Said the Joker to the Thief
by Kuroyuri-chan
Summary: She's a mysterious modern-day miko with a teenaged kitsune son and more baggage than an airport carousel. He's a once-dead, silver-tongued ancient fox spirit with a split personality. She should have known her love life never was anything short of complicated. (Kur/Kag romance told non-chronologically).
1. Said the Joker to the Thief

AN:This idea wouldn't leave me alone and I had to write something happy after the serious other stuff I've been writing lately. I also decided to try out a less descriptive style of writing. Hope you enjoy this one shot. It may turn into a series of one shots at a later date, as I have some ideas for more.

To avoid confusion, mental conversations are in italics. "..." is Hiei speaking, '...' is Youko, and no punctuation is Kurama.

 **Said the Joker to the Thief**

The Spirit Detective Team stood in Koenma's office as the demigod pointed at a screen behind his desk from his position standing on said desk.

"She is to be considered extremely dangerous - Yusuke!" Koenma smacked his pointer against the desk and the teenager jumped in his seat, glaring at his boss. "Yusuke, you can't just rush in swinging like you usually do, you moron! Have you been listening to me?! You have one chance, ONE CHANCE, to catch this girl and if she gets away we'll never get another one!"

Yusuke pretended to stifle a yawn behind his hand, strictly to antagonize Koenma. "Yea, I heard you, toddler. Keep your diaper on."

"Geez, Urameshi, can you at least pretend to pay attention?" Kuwabara yelled.

The demigod's face turned red. "That's enough! It's like trying to talk to children… Now, as I was saying, she's very dangerous. She's a natural-born miko and a powerful one at that. I don't care how strong a youkai is, there's just not much you can do against holy power. This is why Kuwabara will have to be the one to physically catch her." Here, the young man interjected loudly, "I ain't hitting no girl!" Koenma continued over him, "Yusuke, Kurama, Hiei, I can provide you with some protection against her reiki but you still have to treat her with extreme caution. This is the most current picture we have of her, but it's almost 500 years outdated, so she could look a little different now. And yes, Kuwabara, I heard you! You'll just have to work out the details amongst yourselves of how you'll catch her; I don't care, as long as you get her here!" He was panting and waving, red-faced in his excitement.

"I'm not gonna sacrifice my integrity to catch this girl, I don't care what she did!" Kuwabara insisted.

 _'Did he just say 500 years?'_ Youko stirred in Kurama's mind, turning his full attention to the conversation he'd previously only been giving half an ear.

Kurama spoke up from his position leaning against the wall. "Did you just say 500 years?"

"Yes," Koenma confirmed, happy at least one of them was paying attention to the information he was trying to give them.

"But she's in a school uniform…?" Kurama asked.

"And human?" Yusuke asked.

"Listen! I don't have time to go through the whole story but basically, this is her when she was fifteen before she was pulled back in time through a well on her family's shrine grounds to Feudal Japan. She has somehow survived for almost five centuries living in the Makai and has just now returned to the Ningenkai!" he waved his arms excitedly. "And! We're in luck because she's been crossing the border without a pass and we have reason to suspect consorting with youkai to make money off of humans, not to mention exterminating youkai without a license." Here, Koenma tapped his fingers on his chin thoughtfully and seemed to say more to himself than to the team, "That's enough to build a case for investigation, he can't say we didn't have probable cause."

 _'Finally something interesting is happening!'_ Youko paced excitedly.

Kurama asked, "Do you have any current information on her?"

"Yes, actually," Koenma answered with no small amount of pride. "I have a handful of operatives who have been in the field undercover trying to track down the youkai called Tokage I briefed you on a few weeks ago who has been hiring himself out as an assassin to unscrupulous humans in the Taito district of Tokyo. As I've told you, we don't know how he got across the barrier or where he's hiding out. Since we didn't know how to find him, we concentrated on likely targets. The previous two victims of Tokage had been linked to known crime bosses in that district, so they started to infiltrate into some of the other criminal rings in the area. While posing as a bouncer at a nightclub, one of my agents witnessed the club owner Komori, who uses the night club as a cover for his drug peddling, hire Tokage to kill his partner. Which was perfect, but then it got even better!" Koenma was pacing his desk now, waving his arms in his excitement. "Then! The club owner turned around and hired Higurashi Kagome, a VERY IMPORTANT woman who disappeared from our radar 350 years ago when the barrier was raised, to kill Tokage, under false pretenses, for a fraction of the price he would be paying Tokage! It's perfect! I could not have wished for a more lucrative opportunity!"

The detectives stared wide-eyed at the little heaving demigod as he tried to catch his breath. Kurama cleared his throat, breaking the awkward silence. "You say she's very important. Why?"

"Well!" Koenma cast about, red-faced. "She's wanted for unauthorized time travel. And some other things I don't have time to go into." His eyes darted about suspiciously. "But believe me, it is imperative that you bring her in relatively unharmed and able to answer questions." They didn't miss the 'relatively,' Kuwabara grumbling under his breath about his code. "Anyway, current information! Kagome has apparently aged only a few years by human standards, looking to be in her early twenties, and no I don't know how that's possible for a human. She carried a longbow but no arrows when she met with Komori. She was with a young man she introduced as her son. Based on information we have from her last sighting over three hundred years ago I'm assuming this is probably the orphaned kitsune cub she kept named Shippou. We don't have a picture of him, but he is described as about six feet tall, slim, with short auburn hair, appearing to be in his late teens. He didn't carry any weapons. His abilities are unknown, but as a cub he was gifted with illusions. As for her abilities, she is known to be an excellent marksman and skilled at hand-to-hand combat."

 _'A miko with an adopted kitsune son… I can't imagine what kinds of fucked up that kid has to be,'_ Youko shook his head, equally parts amused and pitying.

 _"I can't imagine what kind of hell raising one of your kind would be. The little bastard is probably lucky to have found anyone to take him in,"_ Hiei broke in, having been silently listening through their open mind link.

 _'Maybe not. Have you ever met a miko? Nasty, hateful little witches. We kitsune have very particular needs that must be met for us to grow and flourish. He's probably so deprived and ignorant of his own natural instincts he may as well be a dog.'_ Youko sounded like this was a fate worse than death.

Hiei gave a snort of disgust across the mind link. Outwardly, his face remained its usual bored. _"This mission is suspicious. Why is he so focused on this miko rather than the demon assassin with two confirmed human kills already?"_

 _She does kind of sound like a character in a fairy tale. Maybe there's a lot more to her story that he's not telling us._ Kurama decided to join the conversation going on in his head since Koenma and Kuwabara had dissolved into an argument about his misplaced chivalry.

 _'Well, obviously, Red. He's looking for reasons to bring her in so he can question her. It sounds like even he doesn't know the entirety of her story.'_

 _"But he does know more than he's letting on."_

 _'Oh, absolutely. I'd like to talk to this girl myself, actually. Time travel is an attractive concept…'_ the old silver fox said thoughtfully.

 _Youko,_ Kurama said nervously, _Messing around in the timeline seems like a really, really bad idea. I don't blame Koenma for wanting to bring her in, who knows what kind of damage she could have done to the flow of time and history._

 _'Don't be so dramatic. If she changed the course of history, we wouldn't be aware of it and for all we know everything is exactly as it should be. Or it isn't, but again, we wouldn't be aware of it. So why worry about it after the fact? What I'm more worried about is how Koenma is so certain that we will only have this one chance to catch her. Ask him, Red.'_

Kurama's head spun with the circular logic his other half seemed to run on sometimes. He cleared his throat to break the demigod's attention away from Kuwabara. "Koenma, why are you so sure that we will never get another chance to catch this woman?"

"Let's just say," the infant ruler said cryptically, "She has friends in high places and I'll leave it at that."

 _'That sneaky little shit!'_ Youko laughed disbelievingly.

 _What, Youko?_

 _'He knows this is his only chance to get the miko because if she gets away these "friends in high places" will find out he tried to get her in for questioning! He's made some kind of deal with them and he's trying to get around it by building a case for a warrant for her arrest! That's what he was talking about earlier with the "probable cause" stuff. For him to take such a risk, this has got to be juicy!'_ He licked his lips in a distinctly vulpine manner, his tail swishing excitedly.

 _"Hn,"_ Hiei had to agree.

"I really don't like the sound of this mission, toddler," Yusuke complained, crossing his arms. "You're trying to drag her in to answer for the same shit we do every day, taking out youkai causing trouble in the Ningenkai? And what about the Tokage dude?"

"Hey, yea! It seems like he's the real bad guy in all this!" Kuwabara spoke up.

"Stop asking useless questions; we don't have much time to prepare before she and Tokage are expected to be at the club! She's broken their agreement by crossing into the Ningenkai and that alone is enough to warrant arrest! And Tokage has killed two humans; you are to try to bring him in alive for questioning and judgement, but if he resists you can destroy him." Koenma finished with his arms crossed and an angry crease between his brows. "Now! Let me show you what we've got to combat holy reiki."

—

Kurama checked the tiny communicator that looked like nothing more than a button on the cuff of his white button-down shirt. "Testing."

"Check." "Check." "…Check, fox."

He looked around the crowded, dark night club and spotted his teammate Yusuke standing at the bar, swigging a beer and talking to a girl in a pink dress. Hiei and Kuwabara were positioned on the roof. Their insider, who had actually turned out to be Yanagisawa, one of the three high school kids who had kidnapped Yusuke years ago, was in the back office with Komori and his muscle, presumably along with their main target Higurashi. They couldn't confirm it because Yanagisawa was the only one of them not wired. The door behind the bar which led back to the owner's offices was guarded by two hulking men in sunglasses.

Youko was practically humming with excitement under their skin. ' _Hey, Hiei! Can you see anything from up there yet?'_ He asked the apparition on the roof.

 _"No, stop asking, fox."_ They could hear the irritation in his voice.

Youko snickered. _'Is Kuwabara poor company, my friend?'_

He only received a mental growl in return. Faintly, and if they hadn't had enhanced youkai hearing they wouldn't have detected it, they heard a thump on the roof. _Youko, please don't antagonize Hiei. I really don't want to fail this mission. We'd never hear the end of it from Koenma._

 _"Shut up! The damn lizard is coming down the street!"_ Over the wire he said, "Target B approaching with three hostiles."

"Affirmative." "Affirmative." "Ha! I love this secret agent talk! Yea, affirmative, Eyes!"

"Zombie, try to be a little more covert, please." Kurama said calmly. Seeing the toushin laugh and try to wave away the suspicious look the girl he was talking to was giving him.

"Sorry," Yusuke responded sheepishly after the girl walked away from him.

On the roof, Hiei was ignoring Kuwabara's grumbling about codenames and had removed the ward on the Jagan Eye to turn its attention on the four youkai approaching down the empty street towards the front entrance of the building. "Target B is a class C, none of the others are above D class. Initiating." Those were his last words over the wire before he leapt over the edge of the roof when they were right below him and plummeted six stories to land silently on his feet behind the four youkai. They didn't take notice of him, thanks to the Jagan Eye. All he had to do was keep a constant link between the eye and the four youkai to feed them the suggestion that he was a member of their group and an ally. Hiei grudgingly did his best to disguise the eye under his bangs and followed the four into the club. He scowled in disgust at the stench of humans.

 _"This is hell."_ Hiei growled through their mental connection.

 _'I might be inclined to agree with you, actually. Especially since I'm stuck out here in this pig sty while you get the first look at Target A.'_ Youko grumbled with a distinctly pouting tone.

Kurama inwardly rolled his eyes. _We don't have to use radio talk in our own mind, Youko. And is that all you're worried about?_

 _'Well I'm sure as hell not worried about the lizard and his cronies. But isn't your interest piqued about this woman? A possibly attractive and mortally dangerous woman on the wrong side of the law? It has Cinemax late night special written all over it.'_

 _Oh kami, Youko, tell me you haven't been watching that stuff after I go to bed again?_

 _'Well when else am I supposed to watch it, because you won't watch it with me!'_

 _Well, Youko, no I won't watch it. Not after the last time!_

 _"What happened the last time?"_ Hiei couldn't resist breaking in.

He was answered with, in unison, ' _None of your business!'_

 _'And no, it's not just her I'm interested in; it's whatever secrets she's holding from Koenma that has him so bent out of shape. It's been way too long since we had any sort of interesting puzzle come our way… And also, I agree with the toushin, secret agent talk is kind of fun.'_ Youko added happily.

Hiei mentally rolled his eyes and was relieved to leave the chaos of the dance floor behind when they passed the two guards at the entrance to the hallway. _"Target A spotted."_

 _'What? She's in the hallway?'_ Over the wire, he said, "Eyes is in the back of the house, he has spotted Target A."

 _"Yes, she says she has been sent to escort us to the owner's office."_

 _'What's she look like?'_ Youko asked eagerly.

 _"Her picture. Who cares?!"_ Hiei shot back in annoyance.

 _Does she have any weapons, Hiei?_ Kurama asked, trying to conversationally step between them.

 _"None visible, but her dress has long sleeves."_ He accompanied that thought with a quick mental snapshot of what he was seeing. Youko whistled long and low at the image of a young woman's back turned to him, a short black dress that dipped almost down to the top of her ass to expose the full length of her slender, lightly tanned back. Her legs, toned and lithe, were impossibly long in a pair of black patent leather stilettos and supported what Youko called an absolutely edible bottom barely covered by the lacy hem of the tight black cocktail dress. He couldn't see her face but her thick, wavy black hair was pinned up and over to one side of her head and left cascading over her shoulder.

 _'Sweet kami, that is the sexiest miko I've ever seen in my life."_

 _"You've seen a lot of sexy miko?"_

 _'Meh,'_ Youko shrugged. _'None of them were very sexy. It was more about the possibility of getting purified than their physical beauty.'_

 _"You damned degenerate,"_ Hiei growled in disgust.

 _Alright, can we focus? Hiei, what's going on now?_

 _"We're in the back office. I've made it so that they won't see me unless they're really looking. Koromi is seated, he seems very nervous. He looked surprised when we walked in, I get the impression he thought she would take care of us in the hallway before we ever got back this far. He's got six men, one of them is Yanasigawa. Target A is sitting on the desk, positioning herself between the lizard and Komori."_

 _'Why would she break with the plan?'_ Youko wondered.

 _We don't know she did. Komori could just be nervous because of the situation or maybe he wasn't expecting Tokage to bring reinforcements._

 _'No, it would make sense for their plan to be for her to quickly neutralize the threat in the hallway, in an enclosed space with some back-up at the door to keep them from escaping. She wasn't supposed to let them get back to the office.'_

"What's going on, Fox?" Yusuke asked over the wire.

"Eyes is in the office with the targets. Initiate."

Yusuke approached an irascible looking man at the bar and slid in between him and his date. As they had planned, the toushin provoked him easily into taking a swing at him. Yusuke ducked at the last minute, the man accidentally punched another man in the back of the head, and a brawl started at the bar, patrons with drinks in hand quickly circling the combatants and cheering. The two guards at the hallway door left their post to break up the snowballing fight and Kurama slipped behind the bar and through the unguarded door. It clicked quietly behind him in the silent hallway. He heard voices towards the end. Luckily, the door to the office they were in was slightly ajar and he slipped silently down the dark corridor, back hugged against the wall, to listen right beside the doorway. He peaked one eye around the corner. He could see the backs of Hiei and Tokage's men, but couldn't see further into the room.

"What is the meaning of this, Komori?" Tokage asked angrily.

"You will talk to me now, Tokage. What are you here for?" This was a feminine voice, calm and commanding, but young and warm as well. This was the voice of a woman who didn't have to raise her voice to get attention.

There was a short pause. "Who the hell is this supposed to be, Komori, your wife? Despicable, using a woman as a shield."

"Who I am doesn't matter. You will tell me why you're here, or regret it."

Tokage laughed and his henchman joined in, amused at the little human woman threatening their boss. "You have quite a mouth on you, little girl. I'd like to see what else it can do."

"Original. Really. But I have things to do, and I'm sure you're a busy… entrepreneur yourself. Just tell me what business you have with Komori-san so that we can get to the fun part."

Tokage laughed again. "I like your mouth, onna. I'll humor you, because I'm really very interested to know what you consider 'the fun part.' This human and I made a business agreement, money for a life. I've held up my end of the deal and now he will pay me." At that moment he stepped forward and allowed Kurama a view of the woman sitting on the edge of the desk.

 _'He lied. She's nothing like the picture,'_ Youko breathed, taking in the long, lean legs crossed primly at the ankle, the plunging neckline that left her bare from neck to well below her sternum, affording him an uninterrupted view of the valley between her ample breasts. When she looked up from examining her nails he saw piercing blue-gray eyes, strangely old and out of place in her otherwise youthful, almost childishly expressive face.

She glared at Tokage for a moment, then turned her head to cast a look of contempt at the human who sat trembling at his desk behind her. "You lied, Komori-san. And you know what I told you would happen if you were lying to me." She slid off the edge of the desk and smoothed her dress back into place.

Komori stood up, desperately reaching for her arm. He snagged her wrist before she could step away. "No! Miko-sama, he is lying! He is a demon, that is what they do!"

"Miko!" Tokage and his men yelled, suddenly taking defensive positions.

Kagome ignored them, turning her attention to the man who held her wrist. "First of all, don't make sweeping statements like that. It's very rude. Second, I was hired to exterminate this youkai on the grounds that he was extorting you. You're as guilty as he is. Pay him, or don't and I guess you'll see what making deals with shady bottom feeders gets you. Third, Tokage, didn't your deal state no weapons at your meetings? And you just strut in with a Jaganshi with a sword on his hip in plain sight? Come on."

Hiei's eyes widened in surprise a split second before Tokage dropped the bomb. "What the fuck are you talking about, onna?"

Kagome's eyes went to Hiei for a moment that seemed to stretch out into eternity. Then she swore, "Son of a bitch!" and all hell broke loose.

In an instant she had pulled a small capsule from behind the ear hidden by her long hair and threw it onto the ground in the middle of the room. Thick, acrid smoke filled the room, throwing everyone into confusion. Hiei had flickered out of sight a moment before the smoke erupted.

Kurama called to Yusuke over the wire and told Kuwabara to be ready. Swearing, he buried his nose and mouth into the crook of his left arm and slipped into the chaos, staying close to the door so as not to let the woman get through without him knowing. Two humans lumbered into him out of the smoke, hacking and swinging wildly. He knocked them out quickly with a right hook for one and a round house kick to the side of the head for the other. He tried to move toward where he could hear feminine grunts and shouts of exertion. A pink glow erupted across the room where he had last seen Kagome. He almost tripped over the body of Tokage behind him when he jumped out of the way of a flying fire apparition. The smoke flowed around him and swallowed him up again as he hit the wall next to the doorway and slid to the floor, dazed.

 _'Holy shit, Hiei, are you alright?'_

The hybrid glared murderously at him, holding a hand to his chest where it felt like a hot sword had passed right through him. He coughed through the smoke burning his lungs and flecks of blood sprayed out of his nose and mouth. _"Never felt better, you tailless jackass."_

 _'Tailless!'_ Youko cried, outraged.

 _If you're well enough to throw around insults, you'll make it,_ Kurama said, eyeing Hiei with worry nonetheless. _Her Reiki?_

 _"No shit."_

 _Well at least we know the vests work. You're not a pile of ashes._

 _"I'm so relieved."_

 _'Cut the sarcasm, what's she fighting with?'_ Youko growled, looking around as the smoke started to dissipate and figures emerged from the shadows.

 _"Her hands. Energy projectiles."_

Then, Youko and Kurama swore in unison. "Well, shit," he said aloud, looking at two identical women in identical antique-looking masks covering the bottoms of their faces, standing amongst a slew of bodies, all of which were upon closer inspection merely unconscious.

 _'One of them is the son! Koenma said he was an illusionist! Holy shit, that's a good illusion.'_

 _Are you really praising the enemy right now, Youko?_

 _'I give credit where credit is due.'_ The fox answered indignantly.

Kurama looked from one to the other as they stood in identical stances, hands on cocked hips. _'I am definitely filing this little scene away for later enjoyment.'_ Youko said dreamily, licking his lips hungrily.

 _Youko, you just said one of them is a man! Her son!_

 _'…Yeah, what's your point?'_

Kurama and Hiei both groaned in disgust in the safety of their minds.

Suddenly, both of the Kagomes lunged toward Kurama. They moved swiftly in perfectly coordinated attack combinations meant to maximize damage to the weakest parts of the body. _'Damn, they're clever! They're not using energy attacks so we can't tell which is which! That puts at least one of them at a serious disadvantage though…'_ With the two women attacking him at the same time and him still needing to breath through his sleeve while the smoke dissipated, it was all the fox could do to defend himself and try not to let them gain ground towards the exit, at least not until Yusuke got to the door to keep them from going back out through the front of the building.

 _'Well, shit, Kurama, let me in on this if you can't handle it yourself!'_ Youko cried, blending himself more fully into his counterpart to gain more control of their body. _'Look at this kid, the poor bastard fights like a dog. Relentlessly aggressive from the get-go, holding nothing back from the beginning. No finesse, no strategy. It's shameful.'_

Kurama swore as he dodged another well-aimed slug at his face and blocked the accompanying knee from the other side with his own leg. The impact still hurt like a bitch. _Youko, they both fight like that, not just the kid._

 _'Yeah, well, that's all well and good for a human. But a kitsune? We have more pride than that.'_ The old fox said with disgust.

 _Pride is definitely not something you're short on, Youko._

 _'Shut up. Hiei, what the hell are you doing? We could use some help! And where the hell is the toushin?!'_

They received only a dangerous growl in return as the fire apparition struggled to pull himself up to lean against the wall, his hand still clutched painfully to the protective vest on his chest where the purifying energy had struck him. _'Damn, he really is hurt. Red, this isn't looking good. We weren't counting on her spotting Hiei or the poisonous smoke. Damnit! Hiei, I'm losing them! Shit, pull yourself together and don't let them get back out the front way!'_

Just as the two mikos were finally able to break past Kurama, Hiei was able to regain his footing. Unfortunately, he couldn't move with his usual speed, feeling like all the strength had been drained out of his muscles. The women were able to slip past both of the spirt detectives. When they got out into the hallway they split up. Hiei chased after the one that went back they way they had come and Kurama followed the one heading further down the hallway, to the rear of the building. Kurama looked back over his shoulder to see Hiei slip into another room in the hallway after the other woman. _'Damnit, Hiei, don't you dare let her get away!'_

 _"Shut UP, fox, I'm working on it!"_

When Kurama looked ahead of him again Kagome had disappeared. He reached the end of the hallway and found her shoes left in front of the locked door to the back alley. He looked to the left to a door that indicated a stairwell. "The stairs! It worked!" he said to himself, quietly slipping through the door and letting it shut softly behind him. He listened very carefully and could just hear a flight and a half perhaps above his head the soft, padding footsteps of bare feet on linoleum.

 _'Gotcha!'_ Youko said excitedly.

They followed swiftly up the stairwell which spiraled straight up to the roof. She would be looking for a way out of the building, and would logically head to the roof if they blocked her other exits. The miko was quick and quiet, he had to give her that. Above him he heard one of the doors open and close softly and smirked. When he got to the door that led to the fifth floor, he slipped through just as quietly and looked both ways down the hallway, seeing no sign of her but an abundance of dark rooms she could have slipped into.

 _'She'll try to get to a window! She thought better of getting to the top of the stairwell and possibly the roof access door being locked from the outside.'_ Youko kept a running commentary in their mind.

 _Damnit, I know that Youko!_ Kurama walked up and down the hallway, peeking into each room and seeing closed and undisturbed moonlit windows.

 _'Just take the fire escape; she got ahead of us!'_

Kurama obliged and shoved open the window at the end of the hallway and climbed out onto the fire escape. He looked up and down but didn't see Kagome on the steps. He ascended the last story of stairs and climbed over the lip of the roof just in time to see the Kagome he had been chasing expertly disarm the hesitant Kuwabara who had tried to catch her by surprise as soon as she burst out of the roof access door. Kurama swore when he realized Kuwabara just wasn't going to hit her no matter how many times she hit him. It only took two well-placed kicks to the ribs and a punch to the kidneys to take down the man who was easily a head or two taller than her. He fell to his knees with a groan, dropping the enchanted cuff he'd been trying to slip around her neck to absorb her holy reiki the way their vests did. Kurama watched her kick away the cuff and run towards the edge of the building. She looked down over the edge. Kurama walked up to stand a few feet behind her.

When she turned around, he could see bruises covering her left arm and shoulder, leading up to a mottled blue bloom spreading over what he could see of her left cheek under the protective mask she wore. At least Hiei had gotten a few hits in.

 _'Shit! Now we don't have the cuff and we don't even know if we've got the right woman on the roof! We have to try and knock her out! We need to get closer!'_ Youko urged him.

She looked him over with calculating blue eyes as she reached behind her head to loosen the heavy mask and let it fall away from her face to hang around her neck. Youko marveled that even when her facade was calm and her gaze serious, her eyes were still warm with emotion. "You're from Reikai, aren't you? You people move fast. But I figured you wouldn't be able to keep your hands off me for long when you got the chance."

Kurama didn't bother to deny it. Youko made a crude remark about getting his hands on her that Kurama, of course, didn't repeat. "Why do they want you so badly?"

"They didn't tell you?" She surreptitiously cast a glance over her shoulder and down to the street six stories below. She shrugged. "I guess they want my secrets. You know bureaucrats. They can't stand loose ends."

"Why didn't you kill Tokage?" Youko had taken over talking, trying to get her to relax her guard as he stepped closer and closer to her. He met her gaze and held it with a deceitfully open expression.

The miko looked shocked for a moment. She had seen the curiosity burning in his eyes and had expected him to ask her about those secrets. "What?" she asked, confused.

Youko was delighted to finally catch her off guard. "You refused to kill him because he wasn't extorting Komori, but he admitted to killing a human for money."

Kagome raised her brows in surprise and comprehension. "Ah, well, getting Komori out of paying his hitman wasn't what I agreed to." She shrugged again. "And I learned a long time ago you can't save the world. You have to pick your battles."

By this time Kurama was standing less than arms length away from her. He could smell her now over the stench of the city. She smelled like fragrant, damp hydrangeas, something a little spicy, and beneath that the sultry scent of wet, hot jungles that spoke of her centuries of residence in the wilds of Makai. His gaze moved over her bare feet which seemed a much more comfortable state for her, her lean legs, voluptuous hips, calloused hands, trim waist, exquisitely, tantalizingly partially exposed chest, her beautifully arched neck, long dark hair, sweet open features and eyes the color of rough seas. His eyes finally rested on her lips and he moved in close, loving the way her eyes smoldered under her lowered lashes and her pink lips became flushed and parted just so slightly when he touched her chin with his thumb and forefinger. He dipped his head so that he could feel her warm breath set fire across his lips in the chill of the late fall night. He had the brief thought that she must be freezing. Youko told him to shut up and let him warm her up.

He closed the distance between them and covered her lips with his. The heady scent of sun-warmed leaves and damp moss filled his nostrils and spoke to something indescribably primal inside of him, eliciting a growl in the back of his throat as he devoured her soft, pliant lips. She was beginning to respond, pressing her chest against his and laying her hands on his shoulders, lamenting the protective vest underneath his shirt that kept her from feeling what she knew would be hard muscle. Her flesh erupted in chill bumps when the chilled skin of her chest and thighs met the warmth of his body. She sighed and melted against him when she felt his rough, hot palm slide over her the outside of her thigh and up over her hip to caress up her naked back and press her tighter against his chest. _Kami, I hope this isn't the son,_ Kurama thought through the haze of arousal that clouded his mind.

Suddenly, Kurama broke the kiss and turned his head to see her glowing hand hovering over a poisonous bloom that had sprouted from a seed in the hand on her back to slither up over her shoulder. It had been about to release its payload, a single toxin-tipped quill that would immediately render a small target unconscious, into the side of her vulnerable neck. Now, however, it was quickly being reduced to ash under an invasion of holy reiki. Kagome leaned away from him after he broke the kiss and to his surprise started laughing.

"What do you find funny, miko?" Youko asked her, mildly annoyed but not totally surprised that she hadn't fallen for his deceit.

Still smiling and laughing to herself, she explained, "A dear friend told me that a kitsune would be the death of me."

Youko smiled at that, but before he could respond Hiei's voice reached him through their mental link. _"Shit, fox, the son is coming up the fire escape, bleeding all over the place! He broke his illusion when I got him in the stomach!"_

 _'You were fighting him with your sword? What if that would have been the HUMAN woman we're supposed to bring in alive?'_ Youko asked, irritated at the whole damned situation because he had no doubt his interesting, sexy quarry was about to get away.

He felt Hiei shrug through the link. _"I had a hunch I was fighting a kitsune."_

Youko grumbled about the shame of a kitsune fighting like a dog. _"Shit, he's a fucking bird now!"_ was all the warning they had before they heard a voice shout "Mother!" from somewhere below them and Kagome looked down over her shoulder with a brilliant smile. She looked back at the stunned and admittedly extremely attractive kitsune that some laughing kami somewhere had sent to cross paths with her, probably for their own sick amusement. She laughed again and said, "I can't wait to tell him he was wrong!" and without warning let herself fall backwards off the roof. Kurama lunged forward, reaching out futiley toward her falling body. She fell only ten feet or so before what looked like a giant bird of prey caught her and soured away over the streets of the city.

"Hey sorry guys, I got caught up in this huge bar fight, couldn't get away. I'm coming down the hall, where are you-? Oh shit!" They heard Yusuke swear over the wire. Kuwabara groaned and rolled over onto his back behind them. Hiei had just now crested the fire escape and climbed over the ledge onto the roof. He was hunched and had a pained, hateful scowl on his face. Even the Jagan eye seemed to be glaring.

After several moments of silence, Youko said, ' _…Goddamn, that was a good illusion.'_


	2. Strange and Beautiful

AN: I'm turning this into a series of one-shots. I don't want to call it an continuous story, because I want to reserve the right to jump around the timeline or try out different styles/strategies, if I please. So, I'll just call this a series of one-shots with a plot.

 **Strange and Beautiful**

Kurama stood at the edge of the forest, straining his eyes to catch any movement in the darkness beneath the trees. The moon was a mere sliver in the purple, star studded sky, affording only a little illumination which his nocturnal eyes made full use of. He wiped the sweat off his brow on his sleeve, using the manilla folder in his hand to fan himself, and wondered not for the first time who these friends were of the miko's who apparently had the influence to get Koenma to sign an agreement never to interfere with her again. He absently wished he'd brought a hair tie, but he had not anticipated the heat. Youko had never spent time this far into the Makai, out past the borderlands and deep into the wild lands where fewer higher youkai lived, most intelligent beings preferring the relative civility of the inner level. Botan had dropped him off at the borderlands at the base of a mountain which separated him from the agreed to meeting place. It was, unfortunately, as far into Makai as Botan was able to summon a portal. Further in, the signals became garbled in the youki-drenched atmosphere.

He looked around, putting his nose to the air to try to catch the scent of rain-soaked hydrangeas he remembered from the roof of the nightclub. The wind didn't stir, the air muggy and stagnate like a sauna. The landscape here was like a rainforest, lush green covering every inch of available space on the ground and up the trunks of the trees. The forest he was seeing was a dense maze of ancient trees crawling with Makai wildlife. Youko was positively purring inside.

 _'And why wouldn't I be? She asked specifically for us!'_ Youko was preening under the perceived attention.

 _Koenma said she requested "that damned kitsune," not exactly a flattering description._ Kurama cut in before he got carried away with himself.

 _'Since when is kitsune an unflattering description? I'm a little impressed she recognized us for what we were so quickly.'_ Youko said thoughtfully. _'Probably from previous experience.'_

 _What, she raised a kitsune so she can automatically spot one hiding in a human avatar?_ Kurama asked, mostly to be contrary. He was a little nervous about this meeting.

 _'I am not hiding! I am resting. And when will you learn, little one, that we are a very particular race with certain universal proclivities which you should open yourself up to? Life is so much better as a fox.'_

 _How can you know if you've never been anything else?_

 _'I've been a human for almost twenty years now, haven't I?'_ Youko sniffed indignantly. _'Therefore, I think I would be in a better position than most to make that judgement.'_ Kurama rolled his eyes but didn't respond. Youko, after a few moments of soaking pleasantly in the youki rolling off the flora that surrounded them, sighed with half-hooded gold eyes as though intoxicated. ' _And this place. I don't know why I never explored the outer reaches of Makai.'_

 _Because there's no one to steal from out here?_ Kurama couldn't help but tease his counterpart.

 _'Reductionist.'_

 _But that was a big part of it._

 _'There's nothing out here. A lot of trees and dead legends is all. And low-level youkai with a death wish,'_ he said in irritation, remembering the half dozen beasts they'd been forced to dispatch over the course of the day.

Just then they heard light footsteps and the faint rustling of leaves straight ahead of them in the dense cover of the trees. First one long, slender leg melted out of the shadows, followed by another and a small dark-haired woman materialized in the weak moonlight. Youko sat at attention, large silver ears perked forward to study the woman he'd last seen three months ago and who had plagued his thoughts ever since. _'Then again, perhaps this forest does have some treasures to offer,'_ he almost growled.

Kagome wore a midnight blue cheongsam that fell to just above her knees but with long slits on either side that went all the way up to her full, round hips and afforded her full mobility of her legs. Surprisingly, she carried an enormous boomerang that was taller than her strapped to her back. She had the same open expression and warm gaze he remembered, and stepped forward with an easy grace that belied her youthful features.

"I hope you didn't get lost trying to find this place," she smiled in greeting.

He returned the smile, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear that had curled up around his face in the humidity. To be honest he wasn't feeling his usual confident self in this smothering heat. _'Don't be ridiculous, we are animals and we sweat. This beautiful, sensual creature of the jungle understands sweat.'_ Youko licked his lips, admiring how her well-muscled thighs glistened with a thin sheen of perspiration, imagining tasting the salt on her skin as he kissed up her thighs.

 _Youko! Do not make us embarrass ourselves during possibly our only plausible chance of making a connection with this woman when she was the one who requested us as a messenger!_ Kurama ground out, irritated inwardly but letting nothing of the mental conversation show on his face. If he was being honest with himself he shared Youko's attraction to the woman, and although he was fairly certain his counterpart's motivations were equal parts sexual attraction and insatiable curiosity for secrets, he was also intrigued by her.

 _'I'm not embarrassed,'_ Youko shrugged.

 _You're not embarrassABLE, Youko._

 _'Same thing.'_

Aloud he said, "As long as there are plants, I cannot be lost." He grinned.

She suddenly reached into a pocket on her dress and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. She looked up coyly at him through her lashes as she lit one and took a long drag, blowing little smoke rings over her head and winking at him.

Youko leaned back in disgust and growled. _'That's not the miko. That's the fucking son!'_

Kurama opened his mouth to confirm that suspicion when they heard the swish of something slicing through the air at high speeds coming from their left. They jumped back reflexively just as an arrow whizzed by in front of the miko's face. She swore and with an audible "pop!" a shock-faced male kitsune with short, tussled auburn hair and glowing blue-green eyes stood in her place. "Damnit, Mother! I had him going!" he swore viciously, growling in irritation. They watched, a little shocked themselves, as the real Kagome emerged from the trees to their left to walk swiftly over to stand between the two foxes. She was wearing the same blue modified cheongsam but instead of the giant boomerang, which was undoubtedly her son's favored weapon, she wore a quiver of arrows and a longbow.

She glanced apologetically at their visitor and then pulled the cigarettes out of the pocket of her son's cargo shorts. She snarled her face up in a thundering expression only mothers seemed to have perfected. "Shippo, did I not tell you the next time I saw you with a cigarette I would literally shoot it out of your mouth?!" For the first time Kurama noticed the kid's lit cigarette was gone. _'Holy shit, she really shot it right out of his mouth!'_ Youko cackled gleefully, considering it divine karma for the way the kid had whisked Kagome away before he'd had a chance to really talk to her (or continue making out, or knock her out and steal her secrets) the first time they'd met.

"Yea, I know. But I didn't expect you to catch up so quickly," the boy grinned cheekily.

Her eye twitched. "And that's always your downfall. Maybe you'll learn to stop underestimating my will to kick your ass when you shove me into a bush and take off running."

The boy, who stood a good head or so taller than his human mother and looked to be only a couple of years younger than her, hunched his shoulders and gave the impression of flattening his ears, even though his ears were humanoid and pointed and one of them was pierced, Youko noted with amusement. He was lean and graceful with mischievous elfin features, wearing a loose-fitting tee shirt with the Superman emblem on it. Although still having the narrower shoulders of youth, he was well muscled from wielding that hulking boomerang, the cumbersome and overt nature of which Youko insisted made it a ridiculous choice of weapon for a kitsune. He had four red tails swishing behind him and was barefoot, along with the miko.

With a sheepish grin, he reached out and picked a thorny twig from her long hair that was pulled back into a low ponytail. Youko much preferred it unbound and Kurama had to agree. She rolled her eyes and swatted him on the arm. She then looked to Kurama. "I'm very sorry, um-"

"Youko Kurama. Please call me Kurama," he said, bowing shallowly to her, which she returned.

They didn't miss the meaningful look mother and son shared before she turned her startling blue-gray eyes back on him. "I'm very sorry, Kurama-san. My son was supposed to stay at the house-" here, she threw a glare back at the young fox standing slightly behind her, "but he is a kitsune and, as I'm sure you know, is therefore curious to a fault and has a healthy resentment of authority. Oh, sorry again, I'm Kagome. But I'm sure you already knew that," she said, her eyes sliding to the folder he was holding under one arm.

"I did, Higurashi Kagome, but it is a… particular pleasure to receive the gift of a name from the woman herself," he purred, letting Youko feed him ideas about what to say. Charming was default for a kitsune.

Kagome's cheeks reddened slightly. "Yes, well, this is my son Shippo, whom you have unfortunately already met. Again, so sorry." The boy bowed politely when he was introduced, but his eyes remained calculating and suspicious on the other kitsune.

Kurama chuckled and waved away her apology. "Please, think no more on it. I'm not offended. I'm actually quite impressed with your son's illusions. They're very convincing."

The miko grinned and when she looked over at Shippo they could see the admiration and pride in her eyes. "He is very talented." Her son mumbled a "thank you."

 _'Well shit.'_ Youko said in faint surprise.

 _What is it?_ Kurama asked.

 _'I just… didn't expect that.'_ After a moment of silence, he went on to explain, _'She really does see him as her son. You can see it in her face when she looks at him. I just had figured this was like a child's case of Stockholm syndrome on his captor and she used it to her advantage. I didn't expect her to really love the kid.'_

 _Geez, Youko, that's terrible! Nothing about what we've found out about her from Koenma would even suggest she'd be capable of something like that._

 _'Back off, Red, you never met a real miko. They HATED youkai.'_

 _She doesn't seem to._

 _'I'm seeing that.'_

"Shippo, now that you got your look can you please go home while I speak with Kurama-san?" Kagome pleaded.

The boy gave the spirit detective one last look over and a surreptitious sniff. Seemingly satisfied, he touched his mother's arm gently and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. "Yes, Mother," he said deferentially. She reached up and squeezed the hand holding her arm, holding on until his fingers slipped out of hers as he walked away.

Before he had gotten more than a few feet away, however, she barked, "Shippo!" causing the young kitsune to freeze and hunch his shoulders. "The cigarettes," she said, holding out her hand. He reluctantly handed them back to her and then disappeared into the tree line the way Kagome had come. She then turned her attention back to Kurama and smiled warmly. "Well, now that is settled, thank you very much for coming all the way out here. I know it's a trek over that mountain."

"The hike was enjoyable. I feel very in my element here," Kurama assured her as he handed her the manilla folder he had been sent to deliver.

After glancing in the envelope to insure the promised document was there, she looked around them fondly at the lush trees and the floating points of green light the nocturnal insects made. "We found this place just after the barrier was formed and fell in love. It's perfect. The settlements have moved closer over the last few decades. When we first settled it was a week's walk to the nearest village." The corners of her lips tugged down slightly at the thought.

"You like being isolated so far out here?" he asked curiously. For some reason she struck him as a very social creature and not the type to want to live hermit herself away in the wilderness.

She smiled and shook her head. "I'm not isolated. Most of my friends live out here in the wild lands," she gestured vaguely to the forest behind her.

"Forgive me, Higurashi-san. I had always assumed the wild lands was only home to beasts. I did not realize this place hid such a beautiful gem," he said smoothly, giving her a smoldering look that had never failed to get him in the good graces of a human woman.

She laughed, delighted, even as her cheeks reddened at the obvious flattery. "Kurama-san, I hate to break it to you, but that kitsune manipulation doesn't work on me. I've built up an immunity."

"Ah, I'll just have to try harder then. And please just call me Kurama, I find suffixes to be unpleasantly impersonal," he grinned charmingly.

"Fair enough, as long as you call me just Kagome. I haven't heard Higurashi in centuries."

Kurama raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I apologize, I did not know you were married. Our information is outdated." In his mind, Youko was cursing the kami and already making plans to steal her away from her husband.

The miko rushed to wave her hands dismissively. "Oh, no, nothing like that! It's just that I dropped my family name a long time ago to protect my human relatives." She shrugged, her eyes looking old and a little melancholy.

 _'It's easy to forget she's not as young as she looks. But then her eyes go and look like that,'_ Youko said thoughtfully, who had been observing and analyzing for the last few minutes.

 _What do you mean?_ Kurama asked.

 _'Her eyes, they look old sometimes. Old like our kind of old. Curious. I wonder how well a human heart has held up under an onslaught of centuries of violence and strife.'_ Youko tilted his head as he considered it, as though the potential for suffering were just another interesting mystery.

Kurama had been watching Kagome fiddle with the hem of her dress anxiously. He wondered, for the hundredth time, what she had wanted with him when she had requested them as messenger from the Spirit World. Youko's verbal pondering broke him out of his own. _She looks to be in pretty good shape to me,_ Kurama said, adding quickly, _And I don't mean physically. Although, that too, obviously._

Youko grinned in agreement, but shook his head. _'Humans are very good at covering their scars. They must pack an entire lifetime of experiences into a span of time at least twenty times shorter than a youkai's. They throw their heart into everything they do, greedily lapping up the bitter nectar of life like it was the only water in a vast dessert. Their flame burns brighter than ours, but lasts a fraction of the time. A human heart just wasn't made to live this long.'_

Kagome shifted her weight anxiously, wondering how to go about asking him what she needed to ask him. "So, you're probably wondering why I asked Koenma for you specifically."

Caught off guard by her sudden directness, it took Kurama a moment to adjust. "Actually, I assumed you had fallen madly in love at first sight of me and couldn't bare to stay away any longer," he covered his surprise smoothly, winking at her playfully.

 _'Oh, that's good, Red. I knew my skills would rub off on you eventually. Look at her, she's so cute when she tries to act unaffected with that blush on her lovely face,'_ Youko said.

The miko belly laughed, the sight causing Kurama to smile in appreciation. "Kami, I don't know how I'd handle two of you! No, I'm afraid not, Kurama. Actually, I have a somewhat… personal request to make of you." She said hesitantly, chewing her bottom lip and fidgeting again with her dress.

 _'Personal? Now I'm really curious,'_ Youko purred. _'Perhaps the little jungle princess has grown lonely up there in her tower and needs a lover's touch to quell the hunger in her soul.'_

 _Where the hell do you come up with this stuff? And maybe she knows you by reputation and requires some service related to our particular skill set._ Kurama rolled his eyes at the old fox spirit.

 _'Is that not what I just said?'_ Youko asked.

 _You know I meant thievery, Youko!_

 _'Did I?'_ the fox returned, feigning innocence.

"Please, continue," Kurama indicated, keeping his expression open and encouraging.

She opened her mouth, then shut it again, perhaps thinking of a better approach. Kurama could see her cheeks redden and wondered what she was thinking about. Kagome took a step closer to him, squinting in the darkness to get a better look at his face. She lamented the fact that she couldn't tell what color his eyes were as they glowed in the scant moonlight like an animal's would, but she remembered they had strangely flashed between deep, pine green and honey gold. She'd never seen anyone's eyes change color like that; she'd thought at first it was a trick of the light before she'd discussed it with Shippo. When she stood just arms reach away she tilted her head to the side curiously. "You're a silver fox, aren't you?"

 _'So she does know of me,'_ Youko purred. Kurama said, "Yes."

"And that means you're pretty old, right?" Her face reddened, worried she had offended him. "I didn't mean it like that! I mean, old as in over a thousand, obviously not _old_ by youkai standards!" she rushed to explain, her face reddening. She inwardly cursed her awkwardness.

Kurama chuckled and smiled to show her he wasn't offended. "Yes, I was over a thousand years old when I died."

He thought she would be shocked to hear that he had died, but she only nodded as if he was confirming what she already suspected. "You've been solicitous of my curiosity so far, I very much appreciate that. I just have one more question and it's weird and you don't have to answer it if it offends you but I don't know exactly how the whole kitsune avatar thing works and what I want to know is… Can you take the form you had before, of a silver fox I mean?" Her face had reddened as she spoke, her eyes looking anywhere but his face as she felt her cheeks become hot with embarrassment. Geez, the things she did for her son!

Kurama and Youko were both quite speechless, having expected anything but that, really. Youko was the first to formulate a response and used Kurama's momentary lapse to seize control. "I can, at will, revert back to my original form, yes. Are you interested in seeing it, Kagome?"

The miko shivered, somehow getting the impression she was speaking to a different person. His voice had changed somewhat, become more chilled but honeyed at the same time, his very words seeming almost magnetically charged. She remembered what Shippo had told her about split avatars. Maybe she _was_ talking to a different person, the fox spirit. She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry as her knees seemed to become weak under his intense, electric gaze. She still couldn't tell what color his eyes were, but she would bet they were gold. "No, you don't have to show me right now, thank you, Kitsune-sama. But you'll need to later, if you accept my request. You see," she breathed deeply, embarrassed to the bone at what she was about to ask him but gathering her courage and steeling her nerves for the sake of her son. "It's kind of a long story but basically Shippo has met a vixen whose father is very old-fashioned and who has refused to allow Shippo to petition for the right to court his daughter on the grounds that Shippo's mother is unmated and human and therefore will not be heard, and that he has no other kitsune relative to stand in as a sponsor for him. So, I think you can see my dilemma here."

Youko noticed the title she'd addressed him with, which was strange because she had been previously calling him Kurama, and filed it away for later analysis. He grinned practically ear to ear, the canines that had lengthened slightly when he took control of the body glinting in the moonlight. "You want to know if I would sponsor Shippo in his petition," Youko offered.

Kagome nodded and hurried to explain, "You can ask me for something in return, even the secrets I've kept from Reikai! I know it's a lot to ask of a stranger, but I wouldn't if I weren't desperate. I just," here, she gritted her teeth and her eyes glowed with emotion, "I hate to see Shippo being punished for something he can't help."

Inwardly, Kurama ushered Youko to accept. _We can ask her about why Reikai wanted her and how she's survived all this time!_

' _No, I have a better idea,'_ Youko answered him. Outwardly, the fox spirit softened his expression, taking the opportunity of her distraction to reach out and brush his fingers lightly over Kagome's arm to pull her attention back to him. "I admire your sincerity in your role as a mother. I will help you get Shippo that petition." It was flattering, of course, but it wasn't entirely untrue. She was challenging everything he thought he knew about mikos. Kagome breathed a sigh of relief and then readied herself to spill her story to him (a heavily modified version, of course; enough to satisfy his curiosity anyway), sure that would be what he asked for in return. She was shocked when he didn't, and instead said, "But I'm not interested in your secrets, at least not as much as I am interested to…" he looked her up and down with a heated gaze, "come to know you better. In return, I only ask that you allow me the pleasure of taking you to dinner."

Kagome's knew her eyes must be big around as saucers, but she was truly shocked. This kitsune just kept surprising her. "A- a date?" she stuttered, suddenly feeling like she was in high school again. Sure, she wasn't a virgin anymore and she actually had an almost five hundred year old son, but she hadn't been on a date since she was sixteen at the movies with Houjo, sharing an awkward goodnight kiss under the yellow street lamp at the bottom of the shrine steps and wishing it were Inuyasha instead. She blushed even more at the memory. "Why would you want a date?!"

Youko gave her a look like she might be out of her mind. "You are a woman of rare grace and beauty, Kagome, and I have never been one to pass up an opportunity to acquaint myself with the finer things in life. I would consider it a privilege to become acquainted with _you,_ my fine dear." He moved the fingers that still lingered on her arm down her wrist to grasp her fingers gently, lifting her hand to place a feather light kiss to her fingertips. Kagome inhaled shakily as a flame lit in her belly and her flesh pebbled with chills despite the hot night air. She suddenly thought maybe this wasn't a good idea after all and Sesshoumaru had been right when he warned her against allowing herself to become indebted to this kitsune. But she really didn't see what other choice she had.

"You're too kind, Kurama. But I wouldn't be adverse to that, I guess. That's really all you want?" she asked, almost suspicious. It seemed too easy, too little to give in return for such a big favor.

Little did she know what the kitsune was planning. _A date? Are you crazy? She offers us something Reikai has been after for hundreds of years and you turn it down for one measly date?!_

 _'Trust me, Red, I know what I'm doing. We'll have our cake and eat it too,'_ Youko assured his temporarily backseat counterpart. _'She would have lied, or at least given us only a half-truth. She's worked this hard to keep her secret from Reikai; she's not going to give it up to a Reikai agent so easily. We do this petition for courtship thing for her, we take her on a date and really lay on the charm, she's so grateful for our generosity and intrigued by our charm she agrees to a second date and so forth until we're getting to see a lot more of her, if you know what I mean, and she eventually tells us her secrets anyway; or at worst we sniff them out ourselves while we enjoy her companionship. We kill two birds with one stone, as humans would say._

 _And in this scenario the two birds are bedding a miko and stealing her secrets?_ Kurama asked, deadpan.

 _'Well, if you're going to be crass about it,'_ Youko huffed.

 _Youko, I don't think I'm comfortable playing with a woman's feelings to get information from her._

 _'Who said anything about playing with her feelings?'_ Youko asked, seemingly offended. _'It's been a long time since we had a serious lover and we've never had a worthwhile one, certainly not one half as interesting and sexy as Kagome. I don't plan on throwing her away after a romp.'_

 _Well obviously you're not planning on being in the kind of serious monogamous relationship humans are looking for._

 _'Perhaps not, but as humans would say, who says you have to get married? I don't plan on leading her on or being dishonest about what we're wanting out of any relationship we may happen to fall into. But you can't assume that just because she's human she wouldn't be open to a more casual relationship. She may be five hundred years old, but don't forget that she is also a product of your generation and modern women are much more open to casual sex than they were hundreds of years ago.'_

Kurama couldn't really argue with that. Youko turned his attention back to the miko who was blushing and giving him an almost suspicious look, unconvinced despite appearances that she was really getting off that easily. "I assure you, darling, getting to know you is enough reward for me," he purred, trying to soothe her misgivings. His hand still held hers and he lifted it to his mouth this time to lay a gentle, chaste kiss to the back of her knuckles. He knew when to dial it back when he needed to, and could see that too aggressive an approach was going to make her wary.

"Ok, then. It's a deal," Kagome said with an air of finality, hoping she had her blushing under control by the time he eventually saw her in the daylight. "Um, will you be free a week from today?"

"I will," Youko answered.

"Then I'll arrange for the appeal on that day. It might be beneficial for you to come the evening before, though, to give us time to prepare. To be honest, neither Shippo nor I know all the details of how the petition is supposed to go. Shippo says he remembers being at one with his father but he was very young and can only recall bits and pieces." Her face reddened again as she thought about what Shippo had told her of what he remembered. Oh, kami, this was going to be probably the most embarrassing experience of her life.

"There are some things I should go over with you beforehand," he agreed. In their mind, Youko chuckled wickedly.

 _What has you so amused?_ Kurama asked him suspiciously.

 _'Oh, nothing. Just thinking about how delicious this is going to be. It will make our first date so much more exciting that we have already seen her naked.'_

 _Youko, what are you talking about?_

 _'I'm talking about the petition. There's a little bit of ceremony to it, and everyone must attend in the nude.'_

 _What?! We're going to be naked?!_

 _'Yes. Naked, sky-clad, if you will. It is done to pay homage to our natural state of being and also as a symbolic show that all parties come with nothing to hide.'_

 _I think kitsunes just enjoy sexual tension,_ Kurama grumbled.

 _'Don't you?'_

 _Not with potential in-laws!_

 _'You're so human sometimes it hurts,'_ Youko sounded genuinely disgusted.

"Right," Kagome's voice brought their attention back to her. "Thank you again, Kurama."

"It is my pleasure," he replied smoothly. He felt a drop of sweat roll down the side of his face and lifted his arm to wipe it away.

Kagome looked a little unsure, and then reached behind her to pull the hair tie out of her hair and hand it to Kurama. He took it with a questioning look. "It gets pretty hot here in the dry season," she said by way of explanation.

He smiled gratefully, thanked her and pulled his hair up, immediately relieved when the air hit the back of his neck. Kagome took in the sight of him, her lips parting slightly as she watched a drop of sweat roll down the side of his neck and disappear under the collar of his white button up, the top three buttons of which he'd left open. His long, dark red hair pulled up like that should have made him look more girlish, but Kagome thought it accentuated the broadness of his shoulders in a way that made her want to put her lips on them. Before she knew what she was doing she had taken the last step in between them and was leaning in to kiss the top of his exposed collarbone that looked just so tantalizing, but at the last moment came to her senses and raised up on her toes to place one shy, warm kiss on his cheek instead. His skin was hot against her lips and when she pulled away and took a step back she could taste salt.

"Um, when you come back just head that way," she said, pointing back the way she had come. "The plants will lead you, right?"

"Yes, I'll be able to find it," he assured her. Turning away to head back home, he called back to her softly, "I'll see you again soon, Kagome."

 _I'm surprised at your restraint, Youko,_ Kurama said as they started the long hike home.

 _'One must know when to fan the fire and when to let it smolder,'_ Youko said, running a finger down his chest and conjuring up images of the miko entering their favorite date restaurant in that dress they'd first seen her in at the nightclub. Now he imagined taking her to a secluded corner of the restaurant, manipulating one of the potted plants to give them a little privacy and pushing her up against the wall, sliding his hand up her leg to hook her knee over his hip…

 _Youko, please, I don't want to walk over this mountain with an erection,_ Kurama said in annoyance.

 _'You never let me have any fun, you prude,'_ the old fox pouted. After a moment of silence he went back to his very graphic musings.

Kurama sighed. _Are you going to be like this all week?_

Youko shrugged. _'Probably.'_


	3. Fox Worship

AN: Jumping around the story timeline here. Thank you for your feedback on the previous installments. Enjoy!

 **Fox Worship**

Kurama snuck a look at Kagome who stood beside him ordering dango from one of the many vendors that lined the busy street, and admired the way the warm orange light of the festival lanterns made the blue of her eyes look darker than usual. She smiled and thanked the owner before they turned back to the street. Kagome spotted an empty bench and pulled him by the hand across the street to it, weaving through pedestrians in traditional kimonos and many in either white fox masks or fox face paint and ears. They took a seat and Kagome started on her dango while Kurama surreptitiously kept an eye out for any of their party. He had persuaded the miko to sneak away with him earlier in the evening and was hoping he had a little more time alone with her before her family or his friends found them again.

 _'Did you see that jackass ogling her as soon as we got here? Pathetic. I'll bet he followed us here,'_ Youko sniffed disdainfully.

 _Stop pouting, Youko, she's here with us right now and you're letting your jealousy keep you from enjoying this time with her._

 _'I'm not jealous! How could I be jealous of a little human boy who never had what I have and can't even fathom the heavenly delights with which my intimate relationship with her has rewarded me?'_

Kurama rolled his eyes. _Alright, you're not jealous. But if we don't make a move soon we'll lose our chance before one of them finds us again._

Their attention was drawn back to Kagome as she finished her snack, licking the last bit of sweet syrup off the stick. She was watching the children at the face painting booth across the street with a thoughtful expression. Kurama leaned in and breathed on the side of her neck, not needing to hear the little gasp that escaped her lips to know he had sent goosebumps erupting all down her shoulder under her yukata. He smiled against her jaw as his mouth moved up to whisper in her ear. "What are you thinking about, little lover?"

The miko slanted him a simultaneously irritated and heated look. "Well now I'm thinking about you, and you know it. It's not enough that we're at a festival dedicated to foxes but you are so starved for attention you have to steal me away from my family and make out with me on a bench?" She looked annoyed but there was no real heat behind her words. Truthfully she hadn't minded getting a break from her son and her human family for a little while this evening.

"Darling, if you want to go somewhere more private you know that I am always willing to accommodate," he purred right into her ear. His long hair had fallen forward over his shoulder and covered the quick kisses he laid along her jaw before pulling away to catch the look of desire he knew he'd find in half-hooded blue eyes.

"Why are you so clingy right now?" she laughed, pushing him away half-heartedly with a hand on his chest. "Is this because Hojo tried to give me that stuffed animal? Because you know I would have refused anyway without you stepping in and marking your territory."

"That boy continues to overstep his boundaries when I've told him in no uncertain terms that you are unavailable," Youko said, having managed to push his way to the forefront. "But no, dear, that is not why I'm 'clingy,' as you put it. I am a kitsune," he said, running one finger sensually down his own chest and looking up at her from under his bangs, "and we are very physical creatures, Kagome, you know this."

The miko chuckled and shook her head at him. "You kitsune are very _ridiculous_ creatures. It's all this fox-worship energy floating around in the air tonight, isn't it? Shippo gets the same way every time we come to one of these festivals: rubbing up against everyone, getting all territorial and pumped up. It's like catnip to foxes," she teased him.

Youko shrugged. "You've never complained before when I rub up against you and 'get all territorial,'" he said, subtly poking fun at her phrasing while planting thoughts of a more intimate nature in her mind.

Kagome blushed and averted her eyes from him. "Not like you ever gave me a chance, you old horn-dog, you had your mouth on mine within the first thirty seconds of meeting me," she grumbled, still blushing at just the memory of the heated kiss they'd shared on a Tokyo rooftop almost .

Youko threw back his head and laughed and Kagome couldn't help the way her heart sped up at the sound. It was rare that she ever got the old fox to laugh like that. He was usually so cool and unflappable. Something about his laugh made her want something from him that she hadn't let herself want in a very long time, not since she was a kid following an inu hanyou across feudal Japan.

 _She's getting that sad look in her eyes again, damnit! Every time we get close! Do something, Youko, bring her back!_ Kurama said urgently.

The fox, seeing his companion begin to pull away both physically and emotionally, leaned forward and captured her lips with his. Despite her surprise and her misgivings about making out in clear public view on a street bench, Kagome couldn't bring herself to pull away and melted into the kiss, feeling like her body might be glowing with the warm, lazy desire spreading through her limbs as she leaned against him on the bench. He had one arm behind her on the back of the bench ready to pull her back into him if her doubts got the better of her again and the other hand cupped her jaw. As the kiss deepened he moved his hand down to cup the back of her neck, his thumb brushing the sensitive skin just below her ear. When she moaned and moved her hand to lay tentatively on his knee he was absently glad for the dark, loose hakamas he wore that were helping to disguise his obvious arousal.

Kagome was awash in a sea of pleasant, albeit frustrating sensations when the sound of a throat clearing brought her pleasure train to a screeching halt. She jerked out of the kiss, feeling like her face would erupt in flames as she looked up to see Hojo and her three old school friends watching her in various states of shock. "Um, oh!" she stuttered, trying to scoot away from Kurama and come up with some plausible excuse for looking like she was making out in public that didn't involve actually admitting she had just been caught making out in public. The fox shut down any chance she had of that when he tightened his arm around her and pulled her in to lean against his chest again. As she felt her blush reach embarrassing new heights she was just glad he was at least pausing to interact with her old friends instead of using that irresistible kitsune charm to lure her back into continuing the kiss, regardless of their spectators. "Hey, guys!" Kagome managed to stutter awkwardly.

"Higurashi! Um," Hojo averted his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture, "We just wanted to say goodbye before we left." Eri and Ayumi were giving her disapproving looks while Yuka, who rather preferred her hot, exotic new boyfriend to their old friend Hojo, smiled mischievously at Kagome and winked. "Sorry we interrupted your _conversation,_ Kagome-chan," she teased her.

Kagome glared at her friend and elbowed Kurama in the ribs when she heard him snicker beside her. _'I like that girl. We may allow Kagome to hang out with her again,'_ Youko said offhandedly, keeping his attention on the young man looking longingly at his miko. Aloud, he said, "Please, Yuka-chan, don't be sorry. We can continue our _conversation_ when we get back home," he said in silken tones, pulling Kagome a little closer to him. The miko slid a suspicious glance over him, not missing the way he made it sound like they lived together. Eri and Ayumi gasped and Hojo looked very put-out all over again.

"Thanks, guys. It was really great to see you again! On your next break from university I'd love to get lunch and catch up or something," she told them, feeling guilty when she realized how hollow those words sounded to her own ears. Five hundred years of hard living separated her from her modern-day school friends and despite all the love and joy she had found on her journey she still felt a pang of grief for the loss. She felt a hand squeeze hers and looked down, realizing her hand was still on Kurama's knee and that his hand now covered hers in an unconscious gesture of comfort.

With one last look over the couple on the bench Kagome's four friends left down the street. Kagome slumped into Kurama, burying her face in his neck and sighing, suddenly tired. With practiced ease she passed some of her ki through her hand into Kurama's in silent thanks. Youko and Kurama both froze in astonishment when they tasted her life energy like they had so many times before when she'd allowed them to partake.

 _Did she just…?_ Kurama said, still shocked by the gravity of that one small gesture.

 _'She did,'_ Youko said, quietly awed. _'She's never done that before. I've seen her give to the kit, but she's never given to us.'_ Suddenly moved, he buried his hand in the hair at the back of her head, loving the feeling of the thick, silky strands flowing over his fingers, and kissed her temple, eyes closed to concentrate on the feel of his lips on the fine baby hairs at her hairline. He kept his lips against her skin for several long moments, breathing deeply the smell of her shampoo and beneath that her natural scent of heady hydrangeas.

"You did that on purpose." Kagome's voice and her breath against his collar bone brought him back to the busy residential street. He hummed in question, golden eyes still half-hooded. "You wanted Hojo to see us like that. You were marking your territory," she accused. He could see from the slight tilt of her lips that she was taking it in good humor.

He chuckled and Kagome could feel the vibration of it where her ear rested against his chest. "You give me too much credit, darling. But I won't deny that I enjoyed it."

She took her hand away to swat his knee and straightened back up in time to see Hiei walking toward them holding two dangos in each hand, his typical sour expression somewhat diminished by the syrup he was licking from his lips. "Hello, Hiei!" she greeted the fire apparition warmly. "Enjoying the festival?"

"Hn," he replied, always unsure how to handle her unflappable kindness. "Your kit is about to blow his cover at the ferris wheel. He's been impersonating ride attendants to get himself and your brother to the front of the lines."

"You have got to be kidding me," she said, pinching the bridge of her nose in irritation. She got up and stomped down the street toward the ferris wheel in the distance, talking to herself, "When I get hold of him I swear he's going to wish- He never takes anything seriously! Just floats along turning into this person or that one, who cares who sees-"

Kurama glared at Hiei as the apparition devoured his sweet dangos with what passed for him as an expression of innocence. Finally the hybrid asked through their mind link as he took Kagome's vacated seat, _"Oh, I'm sorry, did I interrupt some sordid public groping between you and the miko?"_ he asked with a vicious smirk.

 _Hiei, really bad timing. We were having a moment,_ Kurama said in irritation.

Youko was irate. He had let Kurama slip back in control while he growled and paced in their mind. He was about to give into the shorter demon's goading but remembered why he had been so angry to be interrupted in the first place and suddenly a calmness came over him. It didn't matter. Kagome had given ki to him in a way she'd only ever done with her own son. It was a gesture that was enormously significant among kitsune, a race of youkai that needed not only food to survive but spiritual sustenance as well in the form of life energy. He suspected she had done it without even thinking. The fox sighed, relaxing finally and beginning to make plans for how to sneak past Kagome's grandpa tonight and into her bedroom. To Hiei he said, _'You don't have to be jealous, young one. You will find a beautiful woman to adore you some day, perhaps, and in the meantime you can continue to fill that hole in your life with regular decapitations and diabetic quantities of ningen sweets.'_

In the blink of an eye Hiei shoved the bamboo sticks that had once held his treats into Kurama's hair and then disappeared. When they realized what he had done, they cursed in unison. Kurama began trying to pull the sticky sticks out of his hair, cursing the fire apparition when the hair became tangled in the syrup remnants.

 _'Vindictive jealous little sawed off bastard…'_ Youko grumbled. His mood still couldn't be dampened though as he thought back on the interaction they'd just had with their lover.


	4. Heavenly Bodies

AN: As I've mentioned before, I'm telling this story in non-chronological one-shots, so while the chapters are part of the same timeline, they did not necessarily happen in the order they are posted. I wanted some freedom to write on my whims with this one. Also, I explained in the last chapter of my other story Soul Magic that I use a lot of ideas that were put forth in fan fiction that I read way back in the day, and a lot of elements of this fic in particular were borrowed from Deviant Nature's "By Any Other Name." My Kimi is inspired by her portrayal in ImaniJoain's "Second Alliance." I don't like to use ideas without acknowledging their source. I hope you enjoy this cheeky installment, and I love hearing your feedback!

* * *

 **Heavenly Bodies**

 _'Where is she?'_ Youko growled, squirming anxiously in Kurama's mind. They sat alone at a secluded table in the corner of an upscale restaurant in the Taito district of Tokyo.

 _Relax, she's only a few minutes late,_ Kurama tried to soothe the old fox. He wasn't worried; they knew how to find her.

Youko, however, had been chomping at the bit to see her again since they'd seen _all_ of her at her son's courting petition. That was just over a month ago. _'She's twenty four minutes late! We need to get her a cell phone.'_

 _Slow down Youko, this is our first date. It's a little soon to be thinking about extravagant gifts._

 _'Perhaps we'll wait until the third date for that… But it's such a bother to travel all the way into Makai just to talk to her. And a cell phone won't even work there, damnit.'_

 _You seem pretty sure this won't be our only date. And long distance relationships aren't really our thing, are they? Don't "we kitsune" need consistent physical affection and all that?_ Kurama asked mockingly.

 _'Of course this won't be our only date,'_ Youko said as though he were explaining something obvious to a child. _'And she is interesting enough to cross the distance.'_

 _Interesting? You've talked about nothing else for a month. Why are you so obsessed with her?_

 _'Obsessed?!'_

 _Focused, then, whatever you'd like to call it. You've never been like this with any other woman we've dated._

 _'We've never dated any quality women, Red. This is a gem of a female we have stumbled upon, and a fascinating puzzle as well. You can't blame me for pouncing on such a high-caliber woman. We meet so few in the human world,'_ Youko sniffed, still insulted by the accusation that he was _obsessed_ with a human woman.

 _That's not fair,_ Kurama insisted, _What about Ruka-chan? From accounting? She was intelligent, attractive, engaging…_

Youko cornered his gold eyes at his counterpart. _'Ruka had twelve dogs and every one of them hated us.'_

 _She was considerate enough to put them out in the yard when we were over._

 _'After one of them bit my ankle! Little shit was lucky I didn't feed him to one of my carnivorous swamp vines.'_

 _Youko! Please tell me you're not growing one of those things in our apartment building! We had an agreement!_ Kurama sounded desperate.

The silver fox sniffed indignantly and crossed his arms. _'How would I do that? It needs standing water and room to stretch. Do you know of any swamps in the building?'_

Kurama narrowed his eyes suspiciously on the fox. He hadn't really denied it… He shook his head, tiring of the line of conversation. He switched gears. _I wonder why she asked to meet us in this area of Tokyo where we first saw her. She must have some kind of ties here. Perhaps it's where her human family is from?_

Youko nodded. _'It would make sense. Koenma did say she was born in the 21st century. Of course, that's a wide range of years. We're only in the first quarter of the century.'_

 _That's true. But Koenma also said she had just started crossing over recently. Something had to have changed for her to return to Ningenkai._

Youko was about to expand on that when he suddenly became very still. Kurama lifted his nose subtly and inhaled. Damp, sun-warmed hydrangeas. Steamy jungles. In unison, they thought, _'Kagome…'_

Their eyes found the front of the restaurant where their date stood talking to the maitre d' while an attendant took her coat and scarf. As usual, she was stunning. She had outdone herself again in a long-sleeved midnight blue dress that hit mid-thigh with a wide neckline that exposed a tantalizing span of collarbone and thin, kissable shoulders. Her long, dark hair was curled and pinned back with little jeweled berets away from her face to tumble freely down her back. As she moved closer, he could see a myriad of randomly arranged tiny gems reflecting pinpoints of light all over the lacy bodice of her dress so that it looked like she was clothed in a sky of stars. If it wasn't her lithe, curvy body or the graceful way she moved across the dining room that drew every eye in the room it was her easy, open smile and her sparkling blue-gray eyes.

An attendant had led her to the table but Kurama rose and sweetly pulled out her seat for her. She smiled appreciatively at his appearance, admiring his form in khaki slacks and a jade green button down and sat in the offered chair. Youko grinned at the view the gentlemanly gesture afforded them of her backside. _'My little miko, where_ do _you find these dresses?'_ Youko voiced in the privacy of their mind. Kurama hummed in agreement.

When his date was seated comfortably, the avatar leaned down to put his lips at her ear. He said in a low voice, "You are lucky you are worth waiting for, my little miko; I was beginning to lose hope."

Kagome staved off a shiver at the feel of his warm breath on her jaw and silken strands of deep red hair that had fallen over his shoulder onto the bare skin of her collar. Before she could respond he had stood and moved around the table to his own seat. She gave him a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry I'm so late, Kurama. I hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long."

Kurama shrugged and smiled easily back at her. "It gave me a chance to peruse the menu. I've never eaten here before."

"Really?" Kagome asked. "My- friend recommended it. She said it's very popular in the area."

Kurama caught the hesitation, but didn't comment on it. "I live just outside of Kyoto, I'm not that familiar with the restaurants here." _'Oh that's good, Red. Let her know how far we have come to see her.'_

The miko blinked owlishly. "Oh! You drove six hours just to meet me for dinner?!" Her blue eyes were as big around as saucers.

Kurama, although his counterpart would have liked to let her believe that, showed her his palms. "It was no inconvenience, I assure you. I must travel to Tokyo quite regularly for business. I was going to be in the city for the next four days in any case," he assured her. She looked relieved, but he had to tease her. "But just so you know, I would have taken a plane to see you if I had to."

The young woman's cheeks reddened and she averted her eyes. No one had ever said anything so… sweet to her, and certainly not a potential suitor. Although, she had strong suspicions that sex was not his only goal. As was usually the case with kitsune, she was sure he had ulterior motives. "I'm glad I didn't put you too much out of your way."

Some time while they were admiring the way her dark lashes fluttered against her blushing cheeks as she looked shyly away Youko had taken the reins. He smiled and leaned back in his chair disarmingly. "Ah, still, I'm sure I didn't travel as far as you did to get here. You look ravishing, especially to have just come from Makai."

Kagome sat up straighter in her chair, suddenly on guard. Ah, there it was. "You don't waste words, do you, Kurama-kun?"

 _Easy, Youko, you're going to scare her off. She told us she dropped her last name to protect her human family. If she is coming back into Ningenkai for family, she's not going to want to tell a youkai she's only just met._

 _'Relax, Red, I'm just testing the water.'_

"Kitsune never do. But you know that," he grinned and winked playfully to soften his approach.

She smiled in return, but her eyes were still on him, searching, weighing.

The waiter approached the table with a bottle of white wine and broke the silent standoff. He began by introducing himself while flipping over their wine glasses and pouring them each some wine. "Good evening. My name is Toshi and I'll be your waiter. Miss, what can I get you to drink?" he asked Kagome, having already brought Kurama water earlier.

"Water, please," she answered.

"And are you ready to order?" Toshi asked.

Kagome looked questioningly to her date who nodded and gestured for her to go first. Having forgotten to look at the menu, she waved her hand towards him, "You order first, I'll know what I want by then."

"I'll have the flank steak, rare, with vegetables, please," Youko said smoothly.

Kagome snapped her menu closed, having made a quick choice while he ordered. "The sashimi platter, please."

The waiter said he'd have it out to them soon and left with their menus to put in their order. When he walked away Kagome took a sip of her wine, savoring the flavor on her lips. "Mm… I like dry. Chardonnay?" she guessed, turning the bottle the waiter had left by their table in the ice bucket so she could see the label.

"Very good. You know your wine," Youko complimented, letting her change the subject. He took a sip of his own.

"Just a good guess," she said. "Shippo has me try a lot of different kinds with him. He makes his own wine, actually," she told him, unable to keep the shade of pride out of her voice.

"Oh?" Youko asked, genuinely interested in the insight into her's and her son's life. "What kind?"

"Peach wine," she said. "We have an orchard. He trades it to a family friend, a merchant. It's very good! Apparently in high demand, too."

"Your son seems to have many talents. Tell me what _you_ do, Kagome," Youko said, sliding his hand across the table to brush his fingers across her knuckles.

Kagome didn't seem to take notice of the casual contact, but the fox didn't miss the way she averted her eyes briefly. "Oh, I don't have to do much."

"Tell me about living in Makai. It's been many years since I lived there. I don't get to visit as often as I'd like to," he prodded.

Kagome crossed her ankles, repositioned herself in the chair, took a sip of wine. "It's not very interesting, really. We have a garden and we hunt deer, boar, fowl… There's a stream up the mountain where we fish and swim when we want to. It stays pretty hot most of the year." She smiled and looked up through her lashes, gazing out the frosted window behind their table into the cold February night lit by the lights of Tokyo. "I missed the snow and the city," she said softly.

"It is beautiful," he agreed, keeping his eyes pointedly on her. It brought her attention back to the table.

"You said you were in town on business. Are there so many Reikai criminals in Tokyo?" she asked him, turning the question around on him.

He chuckled. "No, my dear, for my day job. I work for my step-father. Boring, typical human job. But one must keep up appearances."

Kagome tilted her head as though it had never occurred to her that he would have human parents and a desk job. A smile slowly spread across her face as she pictured the legendary Youko Kurama, arguably the greatest bandit Makai had ever known, sitting in a cubicle typing and drinking his morning coffee. She chuckled to herself and Youko looked a little offended. She shook her head and waved it away. "Nothing. I just didn't expect your life to be so… ordinary."

Here he grinned. "Only appearances, as I said, darling. I can assure you I am extraordinary, when you get past my human guise."

 _I am your human guise, Youko. Don't throw me under the bus._

The old fox waved off his concern. _'She can't know we are two separate entities; relax, Red.'_

Across the table, Kagome was still looking at him as though seeing him in a different light suddenly. "So," she began curiously, "You actually grew up here in Ningenkai with human parents and everything? Did the whole school thing?"

Youko didn't care for the way the conversation was going. He wanted to talk about _her._ But, as he'd learned in his years on the modern human dating scene, most human women required a personal intimacy that youkai women tended to curl their nose at when it came to matters of sex. It hadn't been that way in the past when he was a free-roaming kitsune. Before the barrier was erected the humans had been dumb and easily awestruck and manipulated. Allowed to flourish without the oppressing presence of youkai, they were somewhat smarter and more confidant. They required finesse.

He smiled indulgently. "Yes, I grew up just outside of Kyoto. I was an only child."

Kagome gave him a slow, sweet smile that made talking about his human life worth it. "You mentioned a step-father?"

He nodded. "My mother married when I was seventeen. Her husband has a son also, my step-brother."

"I see," and she looked thoughtful. "And do they know…?" she gestured vaguely.

He chuckled. "No, they don't. As far as they know I'm just like any other human, only exceptionally attractive and intelligent."

His date couldn't help the burst of laughter that escaped her. "I could almost forget you're a kitsune until you go and say something like that," she laughed.

"We are known for our honesty," he insisted innocently.

She grinned. "Is that what you call it?"

Youko very much liked the playful turn the conversation was taking. Playful was second nature to a fox. "We are also known to be excellent _companions_."

Her reaction was immediate. A blush crept up her neck and over her cheeks. Youko didn't miss the fluttering of her lashes or the way her lips parted just slightly.

 _Don't you think you're coming on a little strong, Youko?_

Ah, his voice of reason. _'She's a grown woman, centuries older than any other woman we've dated. Don't forget that, just because she looks eighteen.'_

Kurama inwardly rolled his eyes. _Whatever you say. Just_ you _don't forget she's also human, and if you press her you're going to scare her off._

 _'Red, she raised a kitsune. You don't know what we're like at his age, but trust me, she can handle what we dish out. She's not as innocent as she plays it.'_

 _You're convinced of this?_

 _'Absolutely,'_ Youko answered earnestly.

Across from them, the miko cleared her throat and took a drink of wine, her face still touched pink, but seeming to have recovered from his remark. "Kurama, I don't want to mislead you, so I'm just going to tell you outright. I'm not looking for a relationship. I very much appreciate what you did for us," here, she couldn't help but avert her eyes, remembering the last time they had seen _all_ of each other at Shippo's courtship appeal, "but I've got- a lot on my plate right now and I just don't have the time to devote to a relationship that a… person of your quality deserves," she finished anxiously, looking apologetic.

Shocked, Youko could muster no more appropriate response but to blink owlishly, brows hidden somewhere in his bangs. _'Is she-?'_

 _Rejecting us? Yes. Artfully, too, I might add._

Inwardly, Youko's ears flattened as he considered this unexpected turn of events. Sure, he knew she was still suspicious of him because of his affiliation with Reikai, but he didn't expect her to outright reject him so early in the game. Even with secrets to protect, she was still an attractive, vivacious, unattached woman in her prime. Whatever she was protecting… it was bigger than herself. Bigger than her own needs and desires. That would be a difficult obstacle to get over…

But he was a kitsune, and he would adapt his strategy to the situation. He allowed a small, disarming smile to quirk the edges of his lips. "I appreciate your candor, Kagome. And I want to be honest with you, as well. I am my own entity and Reikai does not own me. We have, in fact, been ordered to cease and desist any investigation we might have been conducting concerning you or your past, but what I do in my own time is none of Koenma's business. You intrigue me. You are exceptionally attractive, intelligent, and interesting. I do not have to hide what I am from you, and furthermore you are accustomed to dealing with kitsune in particular, and I'm sure you understand why that appeals to me," he grinned, showing her a little fang and pressing his tongue against one sharp, white point suggestively. He leaned in closer and lowered his voice to impart a sense of intimacy and avoid being overheard. "And ever since I saw those long legs in that tiny dress that night, trying their best to get a shot at my head, I've been able to think of little else but getting them _wrapped_ around my head."

By the time he finished this careful explanation his voice was reduced to a husky growl that set the hairs on the back of Kagome's neck on end. Her eyes briefly found his lips and she took in a shaky breath before quickly returning her gaze to his warm golden eyes. "You're right, I do know kitsune better than most. And I won't fall for that kitsune manipulation… But, _being_ as familiar as I am with your type…" she eyed him suspiciously, just to make clear that she didn't trust him, "I think it's entirely possible you really do just want sex."

Youko made a show of looking offended. "My dear, you make it sound so crass…" he pouted, wanting to maintain the levity of the conversation, despite the heavy subject. Then he grinned wickedly. "I want to bring you to the brink of ecstasy and make you beg me to push you over the edge… I want to make you cry out for me when you wake up lonely and cold in the night… I want to make you come so hard that you never come again without remembering me moving within you."

A middle-aged woman with her husband at the table closest to them choked on the wine she'd been sipping and dissolved into a coughing fit at that very moment. Youko inwardly preened when the woman shot a look of sheer jealousy at the back of Kagome's head.

Throughout his little speech, Kagome's jaw had fallen progressively further in shock and she was sure every inch of her skin was flushed with embarrassment and… well, arousal, if she were being honest. Because, damn, but it had been a long time… She found that her mouth was suddenly dry and she couldn't tear her eyes from his.

Just then Toshi arrived with their food and the spell was broken. Kagome cleared her throat and thanked him sheepishly, averting her eyes from the kitsune across from her who had not forgotten their conversation, if the way his eyes never left her as he accepted his plate was any indication, despite the momentary distraction.

That's _what you call 'adapting' your strategy?_ Kurama prodded him, disbelief coloring his voice. _You just went from subtle suggestions to bashing her over the head with it. It's just your regular unabashed seductive strategy times ten!_

Youko spared his counterpart a look of annoyance within the safety of their mind. _'She needs to be reminded of her own desires. It's some unidentified feeling of responsibility that's holding her back; in order to bypass that, we need to take advantage of her own undoubtedly neglected needs. Then after she gets comfortable with letting us satisfy those physical needs, we can work on being trusted with more sensitive material,'_ the fox explained to him matter-of-factly.

Kurama, although slightly disgusted with the youkai's line of reasoning, couldn't deny the logic of his approach. Even so, _You are a deviant,_ he countered stonily.

 _'Hm,'_ the fox responded, shrugging. Whether that was an admission of guilt or not his other half couldn't begin to guess.

When the waiter left Youko did the poor little miko a favor and dropped the subject for the time being, letting her take a few bites of her seafood and recover from his suggestive remarks. He decided to back off and return to safer subjects while they enjoyed their dinner, give her time to ruminate on his _proposal._ By the time they were done eating, Kurama had taken over again and was charming her with stories of the complications that came with being an ancient kitsune in public school. They sat talking for more than an hour while they finished their bottle of wine. After he paid the bill (which Kagome objected to, but lamented after some words about kitsune pride), he came back to the table with his date's coat and helped her into it.

As he walked with her down the steps and out onto the cold street, he leaned in close to her ear to be heard over the noise of the Tokyo night. "How about drinks? There's a lounge at that hotel across the street," he pointed to indicate the building. "They have a skilled pianist."

Kagome looked across the busy street to the hotel and hesitated. It was getting late, after all, and she had to be up early. Plus, Shippo would be waiting anxiously for her back home, worried about her being out with this kitsune… Or, maybe not, considering it was equally likely he was sneaking out to hang out with Souta and his college friends again… "Ok, that sounds nice," she consented and let him lead her to the crosswalk and into the grand, modern hotel with the name "Tsukino" in large letters over the arched entrance. Somewhere in the back of her mind that rung a bell.

The inside of the building was as grand as the facade, a large, welcoming lobby in marble and glittering gold, lush red carpets covering the walkways. They stepped across the lobby and through an archway which opened up into a lively lounge decorated in aubergine and gold, the centerpiece of the room being a glossy baby-grand piano manned by a young gentleman in a tuxedo. They chose a small table around the edge of the room and ordered a couple of glasses of chardonnay, per Kagome's request.

For a while they sat sipping wine, chatting about one thing or another and enjoying the piano. Kagome, for reasons the avatar couldn't fathom, seemed to be fascinated by his school experience.

"So did you play any sports? Volleyball? Soccer? I'll bet you ran track!" she gushed, good humor and good wine making her blue eyes sparkle.

Kurama gave her an indulgent smile. "I played intramural tennis," he admitted. It was actually something Youko had encouraged when he was a young teenager to improve what he had called his piss poor coordination and balance skills. But, Kurama also hadn't missed the distinct feelings of pride and pleasure from the ancient fox's soul when they played well.

"Ah, that suits you," she nodded, enjoying picturing a young Kurama dashing back and forth across a tennis court pitting his skills against other human children, just your every-day ancient kitsune in a teenaged boy's body. "I played volleyball," she said. "I was never any good at tennis."

 _'Now that's interesting,'_ Youko said thoughtfully, considering the woman beside them.

 _That she said anything specific about her schooling? I thought so too._ Kurama said.

 _'I know,'_ Youko answered distractedly.

Kurama looked annoyed. _Can you at least pretend that we have some measure of privacy from one another like I do?_

 _'No; it's stupid and_ human _not to accept your own nature for what it is and use it to its full potential. Now don't get sidetracked. Get her talking more about school, but don't bring attention to her slip-up…_

"And why do you say that suits me?" Kurama asked, smiling with good humor and taking a sip of his wine.

Kagome grinned. "Oh, because of your superiority complex," she said matter-of-factly. My, but the wine had her lips quite loose this evening. She couldn't stop herself, enjoying the look of consternation that came over his handsome features. "You wouldn't want to have to rely on and cooperate with other normal humans on a team sport, you'd rather play one-on-one. Oh, don't look at me that way. Youkai always have that superiority thing going on, especially the ones living amongst humans."

 _'Jackpot.'_

 _How many youkai does she know living amongst humans?!_

Just then, Kagome's eyes went round as saucers, staring at something over his shoulder. "Oh, _shit,'_ she cursed.

Kurama, immediately on alert, turned to find the source of her sudden anxiety. A woman was quickly, and with inhuman grace, making a beeline for their table. The fox and avatar took a long, silent moment to drink her in. She looked older than Kagome, though Kurama would struggle to label her middle-aged. She was about his height in her black pumps and her sequined gold dress clung to her slender, womanly form enticingly as she moved and left the full expanse of her milky, lean legs to view. Her hair was cut in a stylish asymmetrical bob and was snowy silver, the exact color of the unusual, oversized boa she carried hooked over her elbows. She was grinning and clearly set on his date.

Kagome looked like she wanted to crawl under a rock, or possibly just sling that rock at a window. How could she be so stupid?! _Tsukino!_ It was right on the front of the damned building! …How the _hell_ had they planned this?!

"'Gome-chan!" the newcomer called cheekily as she arrived at their table. Kagome, looking resigned, stood to receive the woman with an air of respect. Bypassing a polite bow, the woman swooped in with open arms and pulled the smaller woman against her, strangely rubbing her cheeks against Kagome's.

 _'Who the hell is this woman?'_

Their date unconsciously provided the answer. "Kimi-sama!" she laughed nervously. "I didn't expect to see you this evening," she said, giving the woman a meaningful look that Kurama couldn't decipher.

"It's my building, dear," the older woman answered, winking unabashedly.

"Of course," Kagome said.

Kimi, as Kagome had called her, turned her eyes on him then. They were an unusual color for humans in this area of the world. Light, almost honey brown. But something about her didn't seem human at all. Youko couldn't put his finger on it. Kimi eyed him up and down and sniffed delicately in his direction. "The fox," she stated simply.

Ah, yes, there it was. So, she was a youkai disguised as a human. They recalled what Kagome had said just before this woman had arrived about youkai living amongst humans. How had she escaped detection long enough from Reikai to own a hotel building? And what was she to Kagome?

Kurama stood then to receive the strange youkai. Youko urged him to be diplomatic but assertive right off the bat. So, he dipped his head casually and introduced himself. "Youko Kurama," he said simply.

Kimi grinned and there was something feral in it. "Kimi Tsukino. Your reputation precedes you, Youko."

"I prefer Kurama," he answered blandly.

"Ah, that's right. You aren't a youko anymore."

Kagome hissed, "Kimi-sama, please!"

The woman smiled innocently, taking a seat at their table without invitation and arranging the boa around her arms. "Please, sit down," she commanded with the air of someone who was accustomed to people in her presence taking action only when she instructed it.

 _'This bitch!'_ Youko was indignant.

 _It is true._

 _'…She doesn't have to throw it out there like it's an insult, first thing.'_ Youko complained. Kurama suspected he was just irritated at being interrupted on his date.

Taking a seat with his anxious date, Kurama kept his expression cool. "You seem to know a lot about me, and I know nothing more than your name."

"You know me," she said ambiguously. "Perhaps by another name, but you know me." With no more warning than that she turned her face up to him and for a split second he saw an image of another face flicker over hers, almost as though he were seeing a projection skip. She had two magenta stripes across her delicate cheeks and a violet crescent moon upon her forehead like they were tattood there at birth. Her eyes were red and menacing and her lips curled back over sparkling white fangs. In the same instance, a terrible, oppressive presence seemed to shake the room and press down on them, making the air thick like water and a shock to breath in. Instinctively, Kurama's youki surged to the surface, responding to the perceived threat. Kurama had to concentrate to tamp down the sudden overwhelming urge to let his own youki overtake his human body and confront her in his Youko form.

As soon as it had come, the presence receded. The startled lounge patrons erupted into clusters of nervous laughter and talks of earthquakes. Kimi casually flagged down a passing waiter to order a rum and coke and turned back to the them with a pleasant expression. Kagome remained quiet, but glared daggers at the woman.

After the moment had passed and their instincts had settled, Youko realized he recognized the symbol that had flickered into view on her forehead. _'I'll be damned…'_ Youko said thoughtfully.

 _Was that just her youki?!_ Kurama was still in a mild state of shock. He'd never felt something like that. Judging from that brief taste of her aura, she could have snuffed out Taguro, Sensui, and every youkai in the Makai Tournament combined like they were nothing more than a match. Even now, every fiber of his being was on alert, primally aware of the status of the woman across from him. _You recognize her?_

 _'The crescent moon on her forehead; it's the mark of the House of the Moon. Old, very old inu taiyoukai. God-like figures in mythology. What the hell is one of them doing in Ningenkai?'_

"Are you quite finished?" Kagome asked the taiyoukai sourly.

"I thought introductions were in order," Kimi answered cooly. She ran her fingers through the furry white boa on her lap lovingly and turned her eyes on Kurama who sipped his wine with a stony expression. "You have good control," she complimented slyly, acknowledging both his strength of will and her own sheer power that could force a transformation out of another youkai. "It's a shame. I really wanted to see that other form of yours. I'm a sucker for silver hair," she said, winking. The waiter arrived with her drink and she took it without acknowledging him.

Youko looked mildly interested in her flirtatious admission. _'A taiyoukai…'_ he said thoughtfully.

 _Youko! You're not serious! She could rip our head off our shoulders!_ Kurama chastised the ancient kitsune.

 _'That's half the fun!'_ the fox said cheekily. Then, more seriously, _'No, I'm still more interested in Kagome.'_

"Perhaps another time," Kurama said, showing teeth in a subtle challenge, letting her know that he wouldn't be cowed. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Kimi-sama. As I'm sure you already know, I am employed by Reikai. It is both a personal and professional interest which compels me to ask, how is it that you have escaped the notice of Reikai to live here amongst the humans?"

At this, Kimi grinned. "Your employer does not tell you everything, I imagine. I suppose he likes to keep an illusion of control. I could have him on my dinner plate if I thought he wouldn't be all gristle, and that simpering little weasel and his father know that." She shrugged and took a sip of her drink.

 _'Friends in high places…'_ Youko muttered.

Already knowing what his counterpart was referring to, Kurama picked up on the train of thought. _That would make sense. I believe her when she says Reikai couldn't stop her from living as she pleased if they wanted to… She could be behind the agreement between Kagome and Koenma…_

Beside him, Kagome cleared her throat. She looked as though she had resigned herself to the situation. "You look well, Kimi-sama. How is the business?"

"Booming, of course. I didn't see you at the show last month," she admonished gently. "I at least had hoped your kit would come."

"We've been busy," she answered evasively.

Kimi gave the young woman a knowing look. Instead of pressing for more information, she switched gears. "Another of the kit's?" she asked, gesturing vaguely to Kagome's dress.

Kurama was finding that one of his favorite of Kagome's expressions was the shy, unconscious quirk of her lips that spoke of restrained pride when she talked about her son. Beside him, the little miko smoothed the hem of her dress over her thighs and replied, "Of course. He spent hours stitching on the rhinestones. He was very proud of this one."

"Your son made your dress?" Kurama couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice.

Kagome's smile broke through then. "He makes all of my clothing."

 _I can't believe her son dresses her like_ that!

 _'Kitsune aren't tethered by petty human taboos.'_

Kimi cut in, "Have you considered my proposal?"

Kagome looked uncomfortable. "I'd rather discuss that later."

"You don't return my messages," Kimi said matter-of-factly.

The miko's cheeks flushed pink and Kurama didn't miss the way her liquid grey eyes darted anxiously to him. "How about dinner later this week?!" Kagome blurted, looking immediately regretful, but it was the only way she could think to get her to drop the subject in front of her date. For having lectured her about protecting herself around this kitsune, the taiyoukai was just spitting information at him like a fountain.

Kimi grinned like the cat that ate the canary. "Yes, darling, I'll have them make your favorite. Bring Shippo-chan, too."

The miko agreed, thankful to have averted a crisis. She decided right then she wasn't taking this any further with Kurama. Kimi was the forerunner on her long list of reasons why she couldn't have a boyfriend and a stark reminder of the responsibilities that came before any hopes of a social life she could ever entertain. Still, it hurt just a little. She was usually very happy with her life, but ever since he had asked her for this date weeks ago she hadn't been able to help thinking about what it would be like to just have a little fun with an outsider, someone who had no idea of the weight she carried on her shoulders and to whom she was just another ordinary woman. And maybe Kurama knew she wasn't entirely ordinary, but she'd never been _romanced_ like this and oh, it would have been so _nice_ to see what was under those khakis…

"Well," Kimi said, gathering her boa over her elbows and standing, leaving her half-empty drink behind. "Kurama, it was a pleasure to meet you, but I'm afraid I have obligations and cannot stay any longer. Kagome, let me borrow you for a moment, dear," she said with that somewhat unnerving smile, taking the miko gently by the arm and pulling her out of her chair before she could protest. Kimi moved them far enough away that Kagome would think Kurama couldn't hear them, but close enough that she knew he would.

"I hope I didn't embarrass you," Kimi said with an expression of innocence.

"No," Kagome sighed, "Of course I'm not embarrassed of you, Kimi-sama. I just had thought we talked about keeping him at arm's length, and here you are bringing up… sensitive information on our first date."

" _First_ date? So, they'll be more?" the taiyoukai asked with a sly smile.

"No," Kagome answered firmly. "And that's why I don't want him knowing any more about me than he already does."

"He knows where you live," Kimi said with what might have been called sarcasm if she were something less than a walking god.

"Not _here_ ," the miko insisted.

"'Gome-chan, sweetheart, you've been in that jungle for too long. He'd only need a phonebook and a little detective work to find you now," she told the younger woman with a pitying look. Then, her expression softened somewhat. "I've been guarding that shrine for generations. You have nothing to worry about."

Kagome bit her lip anxiously. "I know, but-"

"I know, dear… Listen," and Kimi pulled her in close, lowering her voice so that even the avatar back at the table wouldn't be able to hear, "you should have your fun this evening with that delicious little morsel you've netted and don't worry about tomorrow for once." Kagome looked like she had something to say to that, but the taiyoukai stopped her. "I know, but you always forget that you have people to help you carry that burden…"

Kimi leaned in to stroke her cheek against Kagome's in that way she and Sesshoumaru always did when they were feeling possessive. In the same instance she slipped a small, plastic card into the younger woman's hand. "This is the penthouse suite. A taxi service will arrive at five in the morning. You're in control," she said softly, just for her ears.

"Kimi-sama, I can't-" the miko protested, cheeks flushed.

"You can. And I know you want to," Kimi said pulling back and giving her a wink. Then, bringing her voice back to a normal volume, she said, "And perhaps with you otherwise occupied Sesshoumaru will finally be forced to consider some of the lovely young eligible bitches I have proposed for him when he wants to get his rocks off," she said cheekily, ignoring Kagome's indignant huff and flushed face, turning to leave the lounge.

Back at the table, Kurama sat considering what he'd been able to overhear from the miko and the taiyoukai. _I wonder who this Sesshoumaru guy is. Boyfriend?_

Youko made a noise of disagreement. _'Doesn't sound that serious. Anyway, I think I know who Kimi is…'_

When the fox didn't elaborate, Kurama pressed him. _Yes?_

 _'I'd like to get to the stash soon; I have some old mythology scrolls I pilfered from a daimyo there… I remembered when she said that name Sesshoumaru. If I'm remembering it correctly, I think he was the only son of Kimi the Devourer,'_ Youko said thoughtfully.

 _I like this less and less the more I learn,_ Kurama deadpanned.

 _'Oh, all the old taiyoukai gave themselves pretentious names like that,'_ Youko waved away his concern.

Just then Kagome came back to the table and took her seat beside him. "I am so, so sorry about that, Kurama. If I had known she would be here, I wouldn't have-"

Youko, wanting to put her at ease and salvage the evening, seized control. "There's no need to apologize. I'm having a lovely time, Kagome," he said, his voice husky with suggestion as he stroked his fingers lightly over the back of her arm.

Kagame's attention immediately returned to him as the subtle contact sent a shiver down her spine. And with that, she was falling under his charming spell all over again. As the evening wore on they talked and flirted and sipped wine, and despite her earlier resolve the miko found herself imagining his hands and his lips on her. She remembered that night months ago on the rooftop and how her whole body had felt like a fire was erupting underneath her skin when he looked at her with those flickering green-gold eyes and put his lips over hers. And how for nights afterward she'd lain awake, _aching_ for company.

When it was getting quite late and the crowd began thinning in the lounge, Kagome clutched the key card Kimi had given her and considered her options. Despite the weight of her duties hanging over her, she couldn't let the thought of it go. But she had never done this before, with an outsider. Could she spend just a night with a man and then never see him again?

In the end, perhaps as she'd always known she would, she gave into the needs she'd been pushing to the back burner for much too long.

Sometime later upstairs in the luxury penthouse suite, with only the light of the city through the open balcony doors to see by, Kurama knelt before Kagome, running his hands over her hips as she stepped out of her nude pumps. He kissed her stomach through the fabric of her dress and leaned back to drink in the sight of her as his hands pushed up the hem of her dress over her hips, exposing her lean, silken thighs and black lace underwear. In that moment the light through the open doorway caught the glittering little stones on her midriff and Youko suddenly realized that their placement wasn't random at all, but that he was looking at a perfect map of the Makai night sky on her dress. With a husky chuckle, he lifted up her garment to help her pull it off and laid open-mouthed kisses just below her naval where the constellation of the clever kitsune Fumiko had just been. Kagome looked down on him with flushed lips and glassy, sex-clouded gray eyes and Kurama's explanation was swallowed up in a wave of desire that sent him surging to his feet to wrap his arms around her tiny frame and swept them both back onto the bed in a tangle of hungry hands and mouths.


	5. Silver-Tongued Devil Comes Baring Gifts

AN: I enjoyed writing this one. :) Hope you enjoy reading it! Due to FF's rules, I could only post the first part of this chapter. For the full, juicy write-up, check out my MM account under the same name, the link to which I have posted in my profile. This is probably as close to a lemon as I'll ever get... I would love to hear feedback, impressions, constructive criticism, or whatever you have to say! I write for my own enjoyment; I post to strengthen my writing skills. Feedback helps! I will be getting back to Soul Magic soon; I apologize for the delay. I'm in the process of tweaking the plot a bit. Thank you for your continued interest and support!

EDIT: After several attempts, I still can't get the link in my bio to work. I apologize for the inconvenience, and I am on the waiting list for A.O.3. Until then, you'll have to manually search this story (same title and author) on Media Miner . org. Thanks for bringing that to my attention!

 **The Silver-Tongued Devil Comes Baring Gifts**

—

" _So you're trying to tell me your kitsune gift isn't your ability to manipulate plants, it's your_ tongue?"

 _"You would disagree?"_

 _"You're depraved."_

—

He could have called, but he preferred to see her face-to-face. The long walk from the hotel in the early spring air under the trees that lined these old residential streets had been pleasant and gave him time to think. As Kurama passed under the red torii and started the long climb up the steps to the Higurashi shrine, Youko continued to turn over their current problem. As usual, his solution involved sex. _'We have to let her know that we're interested in spending time with her outside of the bedroom, and in daylight. Dinner and sex the past two months have been-'_

 _Fantastic,_ Kurama cut in.

Youko nodded in agreement, '- _highly satisfying, but we've made little to no progress figuring out how she hasn't aged and what this family is hiding or convincing her to accept that she is our's alone and we have been and still_ are _in a relationship, despite her protests to the contrary.'_ He sounded mildly irritated by the end of it.

 _Mm, since that first night when we met Kimi, she hasn't let anything useful slip about her past. And the kit hasn't been helpful, either,_ Kurama added.

 _'Even her grandfather won't talk about it,'_ the old fox sounded a little bitter about that.

 _It was a good try, Youko. But I think we should start focusing on other avenues of information-_

 _'I already thought of that. The family is obviously going to remain tight-lipped about it. This shrine is ancient; we could probably find some information on it at the public library,'_ Youko mused.

Kurama stifled his irritation at being interrupted and let it pass. Picking up again, he offered, _I was actually thinking about bringing Hiei in on this-_

 _'No,'_ Youko answered simply.

 _Stop interrupting me,_ Kurama growled. Amused, the ancient fox was about to interrupt him again for pure mischief, but his counterpart cut _him_ off before he could. _We've both observed the spells carved into the torii at the entrance and a few of the trees around the property. Obviously, they're protection spells, but I think there's something bigger here…_

Youko became very serious at that. _'I feel it, too. The whole property feels- charged. The air is heavy.'_

To most others, that wouldn't have made sense. But, as he often did, Youko had put words to something Kurama struggled to articulate. _I think Hiei could tell us something more about what this weird energy is,_ he explained why he thought they should consult the apparition. _And there's also that weird scar on her side. It has that_ heavy _feel to it, too,_ he said, using Youko's word for it.

At least the fox paused to consider it again. Or maybe he was just recalling when they had first discovered that scar, and the very pleasurable circumstances which led to it. But then, _'No.'_

 _I don't understand why not. We always work with him. His insight has proven very helpful on a number of occasions._

 _'Too risky. Kagome is very sensitive and there's a good chance she would detect him snooping around on the property, let alone getting close enough to her to get a look at the weird energy coming off that scar. And even if we brought him here openly, he is_ another _Reikai agent, and we would lose what little trust we've been able to gain from her.'_

 _We could easily get her away from the house long enough for him to investigate the shrine, at least,_ Kurama insisted.

 _'The kit will still be here,'_ the fox replied stubbornly.

 _You just don't want to share her._

 _'That, too.'_

They were a dozen steps from the top when Shippo came barreling over the crest of the hill and nearly ran into him on the narrow staircase. The young fox looked panicked. Thinking he'd almost run over a shrine patron, Shippo slowed down to apologize until he realized who it was. "Oh. It's just you," he said, giving the elder kitsune a sour look. If he wasn't in his human disguise, his tails would have been puffed in irritation.

Youko, better at dealing with the kit than Kurama, pushed to the forefront. Ignoring what he recognized as the younger fox's instinctual boundary testing, he asked, "Where are you off to in such a hurry, kit?" In the distance he could hear Kagome cursing.

"Nowhere," he said typically. "I'd come back later if I were you. She's on a warpath," he said shortly, turning to flee once again. His mother's voice stopped him in his tracks, however.

"Don't forget you're taking Grandpa to his doctor's appointment at noon!" they heard her shout across the quiet courtyard above, her tone unyielding and tinged with irritation.

The tawny-haired kitsune rolled his eyes, something he only dared to do now that Kagome couldn't see him. "Yes, mother!" he shouted back to her and then continued in a hurry down the steps toward the street below.

Smirking, Youko continued up the stairs. He rather liked the little miko's hot temper.

 _Maybe we should listen to him and come back later. She doesn't sound happy,_ his counterpart advised as they crested the steps and Kagome's muffled expletives echoed across the empty courtyard.

 _'She is upset. This is a perfect opportunity to offer emotional support,'_ Youko assured him.

They found her in one of the storage sheds. It was a weekday morning and she was tending the shrine, so she was dressed in her red and white miko garb. They both liked her in it, but Youko especially became somewhat _excited_ at the sight of it in a way that Kurama thought bordered on a fetish. Youko insisted that he did _not_ have a fetish and it was a topic of some contention between them. In any case, seeing her in it never ended in anything less than an intense sexual encounter. So, Kurama knew immediately where this was headed, and couldn't bring himself to be upset that Youko would be getting his way after all.

Kagome was moving out boxes stacked ceiling-high inside the building. Although she seemed to be looking for something, her body language told Youko to tread lightly. She was exiting the building, carrying a box bigger than her in a way that made it look like it weighed nothing. She had tied back the sleeves of her hakui, leaving her arms bare. Her long, glossy black hair she lad left unbound and upon closer inspection, he realized it was still damp. That meant she had been in a hurry getting ready this morning.

When she spotted him, she leveled a glare at him. "It's rude to show up unannounced," she told him curtly as she set the box down and stepped back into the building for another.

 _Youko, I really don't think she's in the mood for this,_ Kurama warned him.

 _'Oh, I disagree,'_ Youko answered, pulling their souls close together to both sooth Kurama's fear that Kagome would react negatively to a sexual advance at the moment and to allow him to fully experience the fruits of the ancient fox's wiles. _'You will see, young one. This will not be for us. This will be only for Kagome. We will give her a glorious gift,'_ he assured Kurama.

When he spoke to Kagome, Youko did his best to keep the amusement out of his voice. "I was going to call, but you always seem to come up with some reason why I shouldn't come over," he admitted.

"I'm busy, Kurama," she said, hidden within the darkness of the little building. "I get off work tonight around 9 if you want to meet me for drinks or something, but-"

She cut her sentence short when she turned around, box in her arms, and nearly ran into Kurama standing in the doorway. "If you're busy, let me help you," he said, holding out his hands to take the box. She eyed him skeptically for a moment and then handed it over.

"Thank you. Just help me move these boxes out," she said, the edge in her tone softened. "I need the rest of the archery targets in the back."

While he helped her move boxes, he went about trying to figure out what she was upset about. "I ran into Shippo on the way in. He seemed eager to vacate…"

"Yea, well, he should be," Kagome answered curtly, picking up another box and passing it to him.

"Arguing about school again?" he asked curiously, trying to get her to open up.

"I _wish_ it was just school," she said, the irritation returning to her voice.

"…Well?" he prodded gently.

Kagome stood just inside the building poised to pick up another box, but she stopped and stood straight, giving him a long, searching look. Her storm cloud eyes shone in the sunlight that streamed through the door and she looked so vulnerable briefly that Youko and Kurama could do nothing but drink in the moment and try to commit every detail of the image to memory. The miko took a deep breath and let it out slowly, and some of her strength seemed to leave her with it. When she spoke, she sounded tired.

"It's not Shippo. Well, it is somewhat, but-" she closed her eyes and growled in frustration. Irritation seemed to have blown some wind back into her sails. "I'm just- tired, ok? Shippo had me up worried all night sneaking in and out of the house. So I didn't sleep well, and then I woke up late… Then while I'm trying to make breakfast for Grandpa I get four calls about archery lessons, which is great, but at the same time I've got Grandpa reciting me a list of things that need to be done around the shrine today, i.e. things that _I_ will be doing around the shrine today. Then, Shippo spills to me that he broke it off with Harue and he wants to enroll in a local high school now because he met some girl who goes there." By the time she finished, she was seething again.

 _'Called it.'_

 _Damn. That little shit._ Kurama voiced in disbelief.

 _'He's a kitsune and his fourth tail is just beginning to split. This is the time he should be leaving the den and establishing himself on his own. It would be like a seventeen year old human getting engaged. He's not ready for that commitment. Harue's father is old-fashioned, and Shippo did what he had to do to get close enough to bed her.'_

Kurama was disgusted. _Ugh._

 _'We were teenagers once,'_ his counterpart chastised. _'In any case, it just occurred to me that what our lover needs is a vacation… I have an idea.'_

 _Youko, she's not going to go on a trip with us. We can't even get her to concede that we are in a romantic relationship, and to be honest I have to agree with her. We can only come into Tokyo every other weekend, and every time we meet up with her it's late because she's just gotten off work, we might have dinner or drinks, then we have sex in the hotel room and she's gone before daylight. Not really a relationship. And by the way, I'm still unclear when we came to the decision that we_ wanted _a real relationship with her_.

 _'You know she won't open up to us unless we get her to relax her guard around us. We need more opportunity than late-night hotel rendezvous to gain her trust and uncover whatever it is that this family is guarding so jealously.'_

 _I told you from the beginning I wasn't comfortable with playing with her feelings, Youko._ Kurama protested. But it was difficult to take the high road when he was honestly enjoying himself with the miko. And if he was being honest with himself, he was beginning to develop a certain affection and regard for their lover that went beyond the bedroom. As for Youko… well, when you're sharing a body with another soul, you get to know them pretty well and Kurama knew Youko was beginning to feel at least somewhat possessive of her, if not what the old fox would label affectionate. Although Kurama certainly would. And had. It wasn't something the kitsune was going to easily admit to, though.

 _'We'll discuss this later,'_ the fox sniffed, tired of the same old tired discussion about their feelings and ready to move forward with his plan for Kagome. Like the best of his plans, it involved sex, and he was eager to get started.

What they could agree on right now was that they both genuinely wanted more time with her, and they disliked to see her so stressed. Inwardly, Youko gathered their souls closer together, intertwining them so they could both enjoy an active role in their interactions.

To the miko, Youko couldn't come up with much of anything helpful to say, nothing he hadn't said before anyway. "At least now he wants to go to school."

Kagome narrowed her eyes at him. "Not for the right reasons," she growled.

The fox threw his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Alright, I know." He took a few steps towards her and took up her hands in his. "But maybe if you enroll him now that he is interested, he'llfinish for the right reasons."

Kagome sighed, accepting the affectionate gesture from the kitsune because it was admittedly comforting. "I'm just asking for three years. Three measly years to earn a high school diploma, and then he can do whatever he wants! And Kimi isn't helping anything, offering him a job… He's just- so talented and passionate, but he jumps from one thing to another. He told me Harue was his soulmate! Even his soulmate couldn't keep his interest for more than three months! I'm afraid he won't be able to commit to a three _year_ obligation," she explained, feeling like she'd fretted and rehashed this argument a hundred times, which she probably had. Suddenly realizing what she was doing, she shook her head and pulled her hands away. "I'm sorry, Kurama, I know you didn't come over here to hear me gripe."

And there was his opening. Youko grinned.

"I am here to be of service to you in any way that I can, my dear," he purred, taking her hand again, catching her somewhat off-guard with his sudden change in mood. He had gone from comforting to playful in a moment. She had yet to become accustomed to it, but she would admit, if only to herself, that she was coming to find it less irritating than she sometimes let on.

"Oh? So you came all the way over here to dig out some archery targets for me?" she asked, giving him a skeptical look.

Sensing her willingness to accept his diversion, he lifted the hand he had recaptured to his lips, laying a kiss softly to her fingertips, never taking his eyes from her's. He was pleased to note the color in her cheeks and the way her heartbeat quickened at the touch. Pulling her fingers away from his lips just far enough that she could still feel his breath across her knuckles, he answered softly, "I admit, I did have something specific in mind when I came over. But I'll bet you can't guess what it was."

"I'll bet I can," she returned, somewhat breathlessly. Her frustration was melting away. How embarrassing was it that all it took was a kitsune breathing on her hand to get her to let go of her earlier frustration? But she wanted to get rid of it. The thing was, she was beginning to fear that she had taken on more than she could handle. When she had told her mother that she would take over the shrine for her and take care of Grandpa, she knew it was going to be difficult. For one, she and Shippo had to reestablish themselves in Ningenkai, a world that believed miko and youkai were nothing more than fairytales and superstition. That was difficult on both of them, but now she had bills to pay and another person to care for. She hadn't felt this powerless and out of her element in a very long time.

A pang of guilt stabbed through her. She truly did like Kurama, and the sex was- beyond amazing. But she did not, for one moment, let herself entertain the notion that they could ever be anything more. And she knew she needed to break it off with him, to find a way to deflect his interest somehow, before he got too close and Kimi ate him. But like any good kitsune, he was irritatingly persistent. And damn, but… she just had trouble saying "no" to him. He had this way of making her feel… special, and beautiful, and powerful, like no one had ever made her feel before.

Youko closed the last bit of distance between them, backing her up through the doorway and into the wall just inside the building, trapping her hands between them...

AN: Sorry I had to cut it off just when it was getting good. Read the full chapter on MM!


	6. Pillow Talk: Boundaries

AN: So, the Pillow Talk installments are going to be a little different from the others. I wanted these to feel very intimate, so I omitted the internal dialogue between Youko and Kurama and only presented the external interactions between Kagome and Kurama (who, at any point, may be Kurama, Youko, or a blend of both souls). This is one of the reasons I'm defining this fic as a "one-shot series," because I want to kind of experiment with different approaches. As always, I love to hear your thoughts and reactions! Thank you, my dear lovely reviewers.

* * *

 **Pillow Talk: Boundaries**

"I'm sorry!" Kagome blurted out, hands fidgeting.

They had been wondering how long she would be able to stay silent. "For what?" he asked.

She swallowed and he could hear her anxiety. He'd felt it all night. Foreplay and sex had loosened her up for a time, but then she'd become anxious and distant again. "I'm sorry I was-… I just- I've never done this before," she said, gesturing vaguely, although he couldn't see it.

He arched one red brow, still not opening his eyes but unable to resist teasing her. "Oh? You seem to know pretty well what you're doing for someone who's never done it before…"

She made a sound of exasperation and smacked his arm, turning her head to hide her smile. Some of her tension eased, despite herself. "You know I don't mean that. I've never just- just had casual sex. I-… I don't really know what to do," she said, embarrassed all over again.

He chuckled and she felt it where his arm touched hers. She ignored the way her heart leapt at the sound and cornered her eyes at him. Finally opening his eyes to the dimly lit hotel room they shared, he rolled over onto his side to face her and grinned. "If it helps, darling," he told her, his voice roughened from their earlier exertion, "you're doing a fantastic job so far."

Her cheeks became flushed under his attention. "You've already got me in bed, Kurama, you can give it a rest."

The avatar chuckled, genuine mirth making his eyes bright. They were gold around the irises now, and faded into emerald at the edges. She cast her gaze to the ceiling, but couldn't pull her attention away from the sensitive skin of her inner arm where his hand stroked absently. "It's not my intent to flatter you, Kagome." Here, he lowered his lips to her shoulder and spoke against her skin. "Only to be truthful with you."

Kagome snorted at that, a smile quirking her lips. She was really beginning to relax. How did he do that? "I'd bet there's not a word in the kitsune language for 'truthful,'" she couldn't help but tease.

He thought about that. "There is, but a better translation for the word is 'blunt' and it's not at all flattering for a kitsune to be called such."

"Figures," she said. Remembering what she'd been trying to express to him in the first place, she decided to stop beating around the bush and just come out and say what was bothering her. The miko rolled over onto her side to face him, finding her face closer than she'd intended to the avatar's. His hair was just so attractively mussed and his broad, toned shoulders glistened in the moonlight streaming in from the window behind him. Kami, he was… beautiful and just so- _good_ at this. Her face flushed with her turn of thoughts, but she forged on.

"Listen, I- I know it's really stupidly human of me and everything, but I always sort of had this idea that a person should at least have some sort of trust and sense of affection for another person before they… you know, do what we're doing." She swallowed her embarrassment. _'Geez, what he must think of me. Get it together, Kagome, you're four hundred and something years old!'_ "But obviously I _am_ , um-" her eyes strayed to his chest when he shifted on his elbow and the sheet fell down to his waist, exposing the mouthwatering, hard contours of his chest. She drew in a sharp breath and forced her gaze back to his smirking eyes, "Well, I just mean I'm sorry for being such a spaz earlier. I guess I just got a little freaked out when we ran into my friend from high school."

"Eri, was it?" he asked, although he remembered perfectly well.

"Yeah… I love Eri, but she's a huge gossip. I just really wanted to keep this… you know, between us," she gestured vaguely.

Kurama shrugged. "What does it matter? The worst they can do is talk."

"Well, you're not the one who has to get four-way phone calls that consist mainly of shrieking and incoherent cooing," she muttered.

The fox had the audacity to shrug as though he still didn't really care, and rolled back over onto his back, holding up his arm and gesturing for her to lie down next to him. Kagome hesitated, biting her lip and glancing at her clothing on the floor. She should really just get dressed and go home. She wasn't very sleepy anyway.

Kurama peeked one eye up at her. "You don't want to go yet," he told her confidently.

At that, Kagome turned a glare on him and Kurama consciously kept the smirk from his lips when she tilted her chin in that stubborn way he found so appealing. "You don't know what I want," she asserted.

"I know what you want, darling," he assured her, and laid his hand on her shoulder to try to guide her down to the mattress.

The miko didn't budge. "Kurama, _darling,_ you know next to nothing about me."

The fox opened both eyes now. "I know enough about you to know that you enjoy being touched," and he began to stroke her shoulder with the tips of his fingers. "And that you crave contact like a fox does," and he siphoned off just a taste of her ki, which he'd come to know was warm, and somewhat tart on his palate, and altogether delicious, especially just after sex. "Where is the benefit in denying one's nature? Or denying oneself pleasure?"

Kagome found herself letting him guide her to his side and nestling into the crook of his arm, one hand on his hard chest, brushing strands of crimson hair back over his shoulders. "That's your philosophy? 'If it feels good, do it'?" she prodded, knowing she'd given up the fight but not willing to let it go. Why did this have to feel so right when she knew it was wrong?

"More or less," he answered, satisfied that she had settled down. He closed his eyes again and relaxed, stroking her arm and enjoying the sensation of her warm, lithe body pressed flesh-to-flesh against his. "May I?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

"Of course," she said, and felt him gather her closer somehow, his other arm coming across his torso to pull her almost on top of him and press her shoulder and arm into his chest. She put one leg over his to maximize their contact and "loosened" her ki so that it washed over him as he took it in. It had been strange, really strange, to do this for him the first time. It was something she'd only ever done for Shippo before, who had equated it to something like breastfeeding for kitsune, except that mates, relatives, and close friends would do it for one another, too. Ki was something a kitsune _needed_ to thrive. Kurama liked to take from her after sex sometimes, and seeing as how he dutifully (spectacularly) fulfilled her physical needs, it didn't seem right to deny him his, even though they weren't mates, relatives, or even friends truly, and the act carried very _intimate_ connotations, at least for her. But…

The warmth of his body, the rough, hot texture of his fingertips stroking her arm, the feeling of contentment practically radiating from him and his steady heartbeat under her ear was too much for her to resist. He was right. He usually was. She didn't want to leave yet.

—


	7. Pillow Talk: Scars

**Pillow Talk: Scars**

"Where did this come from?"

As a general rule, Kagome tried not to let things get very personal with Kurama. But it had been a rough day, and the longer she laid here in silence the more her post-orgasm glow faded into the gaping chasm of her anxiety. She needed a distraction. So, she asked a question.

The hard muscles of his stomach moved under her arm as Kurama lifted his heavy head to see what she was gesturing to. His eyes slit open drowsily, and she could see his pupils were dilated, nearly overwhelming the gold irises. They always looked like that when he was feeding. She liked it for some reason she couldn't quite put her finger on. Maybe she liked seeing him a little vulnerable, a little out of sorts. She shouldn't care, but…

"Oh," he said, realizing she was asking about one of the scars on his stomach. "From the death plant," he answered simply, relaxing back into the pillows, finding the pleasure of bathing in Kagome's ki currently preferable to conversation.

"One of your plants tried to hurt you?" she asked, genuinely interested now. She traced the smooth, raised outline of the scar absently. There were a lot of little scars like this on him, but this one was the biggest.

"No," he answered, trying to focus on the conversation once again. "I purposely planted it under my skin. Most of those scars came from it."

"Oh…" and she fell quiet again. Kurama was drifting back into near consciousness when her voice pulled him back again. "Why did you do that?"

My, but she was talkative tonight. He should take advantage of that… Opening his eyes fully, Kurama focused on the woman at his side, deciding to turn his attention completely to the conversation now. He didn't want to seem like he was too interested, though, so he continued to take in her ki, although the pleasant sensations made it considerably more difficult to focus. But he hadn't survived more than a millennia on his own without being able to divide his attention between business and pleasure. He was careful to speak slowly and "sleepily." "I was young… and much weaker than I am now. My opponent sealed my youki and thought he'd have an easy kill… But he learned what happens when you back a fox into a corner."

Kagome smiled despite herself, and he felt it against his skin. "Above all, survive… That's something Shippo says, that his father told him."

"Sound advice for a young kitsune." Kurama was focusing on her voice, her breath, her scent of hydrangeas under the musk of sex, and her warm, soft flesh pressed against his side to keep himself grounded under the pleasant blanket of her nourishing ki. He moved the hand that had been resting on her hip up over her arm and to the thin, jagged scars over her shoulder. A good fox could turn _any_ circumstance to his advantage. "You're a survivor, too… cheated time itself. You'd have made a good vixen," he said, keeping his voice low and his speech just slightly slurred, as though he were still in that half-asleep state.

He felt her heart speed up just a little at the casual mention of her "cheating time," but he didn't call attention to it. It had been a harmless, offhand comment, surely. He was drowsy and harmless. It took her a few silent moments to answer. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"It was meant as one…" he said, continuing to stroke his palm up and down her arm and over her scarred shoulder. He let the moment pass, and let her heart beat return to its regular steady, slow rhythm. "Where did this come from?" he echoed her earlier question, letting his fingertips rest on the four long scars.

She hesitated and turned her face up to see his. Feeling her move, he slit his eyes open to find her considering him thoughtfully. The corners of his mouth ticked up just so and he prodded her, teasing, "It's your turn."

His wine-colored hair stuck up in odd places and fell wildly over his shoulders. His eyes were sleepy and almost all pupil. She couldn't help but smile as she laid her head back down on his chest. "I guess that's fair… That one was from Mother Bear. Her territory overlaps with ours; we see her every few years when she comes down from the mountain to mate. Anyway, Shippo was still just a boy, and we'd only been living at our home in Makai for a decade or so, I think…" The miko thought for a moment; it was centuries ago, after all. "Well, we came upon her and startled her by accident, and she had cubs with her, so…" she shrugged.

"I see," Kurama answered. "Was Shippo hurt, too?"

"No, not at all. Honestly, it looks worse than it really was. I was able to scare her off. And now we're very careful about avoiding her," she laughed, trying to make light of it. She didn't really like thinking about that day. It had been a terrifying experience.

Kurama hummed noncommittally. Personally, he probably would have killed the beast for threatening a kit of his. Although, he might have felt a little bad for the cubs later… Kagome fell silent again for a few minutes. Kurama didn't press her for anything more. He had to be careful. She was in an open mood, and he wouldn't waste this opportunity by scaring her back into her shell. He could feel that she was still awake, stroking absent patterns over his arm and shoulder and across this chest. What was she thinking so deeply about?

"These weren't from the death plant, were they?" she asked, fingers finding the jagged, odd-shaped scars on his arms. They felt and looked very different from the others.

"Those were from a demon named Karasu… He was extremely fast and materialized bombs using only his youki. He was very difficult to kill," Kurama admitted, remembering that he had really believed he would die (again) at the time.

"I'd imagine so… You get into a lot of fights working for Reikai, don't you?"

He shrugged. "I suppose. But these scars are only there because I was put into a situation for which I was not yet strong enough to handle. I pulled several miracles out of my hat just to survive that week. Lately our missions aren't much of a challenge at all. Boring at best."

And she was quiet again. So, after a few quiet moments, he ventured, "This one was an animal attack, too." His hand had drifted down to her side, over her ribs under her right arm, where there were four more long, thin scars. These were much closer together and less pronounced. The wounds hadn't been as deep.

"Kind of… A wolf youkai. He caught me off guard," she shrugged, going into no more detail than that.

"Hm…" he acknowledged. And he continued to feed, and bide his time.

A half hour might have passed. She was still awake, quietly trailing her fingers over his skin, shifting her position every so often. "Are you uncomfortable?" he asked when she wriggled and shifted her weight for the tenth time.

"…my arm is falling asleep," she admitted sheepishly.

Kurama grinned and moved aside to free her trapped arm and tapped her hip, telling her, "Turn over." The sheet had fallen to their waists with all the movement and he enjoyed the view as she raised up to her elbows and turned onto her right side, her slender back to him. Her long, unbound hair crept over the mattress in black tendrils. Carefully, he gathered it all together and twisted it up over her head and onto the pillows so he could slide in behind her, tucking his body snug against her back and putting one arm around her waist. She fit just perfectly right there. "Better?" he asked.

She nodded, "Thank you."

After a while, he was done feeding and Kagome gathered her ki back into herself, feeling more content than she had earlier in the night. It was admittedly relaxing. She could almost fall asleep…

Breath on the back of her neck. Soft lips moving along her hairline, under her ear, her jaw. She couldn't help but grin into the pillow, fully awake again. "Still hungry?" she asked.

His answer was to slide up onto his elbow behind her and slip the hand that had rested against her stomach up to her chin, turning her mirthful face up to his. Obliging, she leaned back into him to see his eyes. The pupils were back to normal. And a little green again. He looked… satisfied, and a little ruffled, and utterly gorgeous. Kami, she could kiss that chiseled jaw for days…

The avatar grinned and bit her shoulder. "You could say that." He laid his lips on her shoulder, kissing slowly, softly down her arm. Sitting up further, he continued to kiss back up her arm and down her ribs, causing the miko to release an involuntary giggle when he passed over a ticklish spot.

Oh! Now that was interesting…

"Don't even _think_ about it, fox," Kagome warned him with a stern look.

He raised his head to look down at her, eyebrows quirked in mock innocence. "Why, little lover, I don't know what you're talking about."

"I swear, Kurama, I will twist your nipple so hard-"

Unexpectedly, he belly laughed at the mental image of the naked little miko exacting revenge on him in a manner more fit for middle school boys in the locker room.

Kagome couldn't help but grin at the outburst, but insisted, "I'm serious! Do not tickle me."

Kurama shrugged. "I'd rather just kiss you." So he did, continuing down her ribs, to the dip of her waist and the over the generous swell of her hips, pushing the sheet down as he went. He brushed the backs of her thighs, feather soft, with the tips of his fingers. He heard her sigh. He continued the slow, torturous ministrations back up her body. On the second pass over the bite-sized scar on her left side just under the last rib, he stopped and let his lips hover over the pale, shallow indention. "What about this one?" he breathed against her skin, just loud enough for her to hear him in the quiet hotel room.

Her reaction was minute, but instantaneous. Her heart rate sped up considerably, and her scent of wet hydrangeas and hot, wild forests intensified. He inhaled the scent deeply, luxuriously. She was anxious. "Lady Centipede…" she whispered, her voice as low as his had been. "She was the first youkai I ever met. She- tried to eat me. Got a good bite out of me, anyway."

"I see…" he kissed the spot tenderly and Kagome shivered at the touch. He left it alone. That had been the one he was most curious about. Her reaction had been… interesting. Something to consider later.

Up over her ribs and to her shoulder the fox's lips kissed a lazy path. "You've come a long way since then. Now you _willingly_ let a youkai bite you. Beg for it, even," he teased, lightening the mood again.

The miko leaned back to glare up at him and swat his chest half-heartedly, cheeks flushed, even though a smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "You are indecent."

"I'll agree with that. I am completely naked," he retorted, purposefully misunderstanding her. Meanwhile, his fingers were still stroking up and down her thigh and hip teasingly, softly.

She rolled her eyes and huffed, rolling fully onto her back to put her hands on his hard shoulders and tug him down over her. "Look, are you going to keep talking, or-?

Kagome didn't get to finish her sentence.


	8. A M-D-F-T-D-F-P-O

AN: Surprise! I'm still alive. I won't burden you with sordid details about my failing personal life, but I managed to crank this out over the last two weeks, so I hope you enjoy it. This story is not over and I have lot more pieces in mind for it and a lot more to reveal, but my free time is sporadic and far between. As always, if you read it and enjoy it, please comment or review and I'll adore you forever. If you hate it, tell me. I won't adore you, but I need to know if it's bad.

 **Said the Joker to the Thief**

 **A Modern Day Fairy Tale Dance Fighting Pop Opera**

—

It was a warm, clear Saturday morning in May. It was Kagome's day off (a rarity), and Kurama was on his way to pick her up at her home to take her on an all-day hiking expedition through the mountains. Youko had feverishly planned this day for weeks, down to the last minute detail. They had already hiked their chosen trail twice in preparation, planning out every beautiful view he wanted to share with her and every little cove and sheltering tree under which he wanted to _share_ his talents with her.

Their schedule was precise, but allowed ample time for shenanigans. He couldn't wait to get her out in the woods and play with her like he'd been wanting to do since he'd walked behind her, naked, in a hot jungle in Makai months ago. This would be Ningenkai, and a well-trafficked national park, so they had to be more discreet, but… he planned to have his cake and eat it too.

So, when he crested the steps of the shrine and found not only that Kagome wasn't ready to leave but that she had visitors as well, he was slightly irked. But his brief irritation melted into sheer curiosity at the scene before him.

His eyes found the strangers first, none of whom had yet noticed his quiet approach. Three young women and a young man all sat at the edge of the grassy courtyard in athletic wear with their belongings, their attention on the display before them. Kurama recognized the girl named Eri, but not the other three. But what was most interesting was what they were all focused on.

Kagome and Shippo were sparring (or dancing?) in the courtyard, movements in rhythmic coordination as Shippo counted aloud to keep time. Kurama immediately realized it was a choreographed dance… of sorts. They looked almost like they were fighting, but their contact was soft, swings and kicks embellished so they looked more like dance moves than anything meant to do real harm. Both of them looked like they were having fun, but that wasn't what kept his gaze, and probably not what kept the four humans on the sidelines. Especially not the male…

 _'Who is that? Kagome hasn't mentioned any male friends…'_ Youko gave the impression of ruffled fur. _' And what business does he think he has looking at her like that?'_

 _Slow down, Youko,_ Kurama tried to reason with him. _Maybe they're here for a class. Didn't Kagome mention that she'd started offering a self-defense course?_

 _'Hm… I still don't like it… Only I am allowed to look at her like that,'_ the fox sniffed.

 _We,_ Kurama reminded him.

 _'Don't pout; it's understood,'_ Youko countered. _'Anyway, her class was supposed to be gone by now. We told her we'd pick her up at 10…'_ the ancient fox trailed off thoughtfully.

 _Don't pout,_ Kurama couldn't help but return the jab. _It's still fifteen til._

 _'I'm thinking, you brat…'_ Then, a moment later, _'I can't believe she forgot.'_

 _What are you-_ Kurama began, switching gears when he caught up to Youko's train of thought. _She forgot!_ Kurama couldn't help the title jab of hurt at that realization. Kagome had forgotten their date. But… well, she was busy, it was understandable. And she had made it very clear that they were not "dating" anyway, she'd just been enticed by the prospect of a day in the woods.

 _'It doesn't matter,'_ Youko said brusquely, pulling Kurama's soul close and stroking him in a soothing manner that belied the fox's tone. He was a little hurt too, although he'd not ever admit it aloud to even his human counterpart. _'We will make sure she_ never _forgets our outing in the forest. And we could very well use this unexpected opportunity to our advantage.'_ Indeed, there were opportunities to be taken advantage of here, even if he half just wanted to bypass the strangers and the son and whisk Kagome away on their much-anticipated hike and make good on his promise to Kurama that the miko would never forget them again. But that would come later. And they both would come later, if he had everything to do with it. With that motivation firmly in his mind, he focused on the situation at hand.

The strangers represented a potential fountain of information on Kagome, but not on the part of her life that he was most interested in, the four hundred years or so between the time she fell into the well (which somehow contained a time warp, though not any more because he had already inspected the well house quite thoroughly) and when she returned to Ningenkai. Their knowledge of Kagome would be shallow and only partially accurate at best.

But… he suspected these were all high school friends or at least acquaintances of Kagome's, and it might do to make a good impression on them anyway. Mainly, the females. Female friends were very important to human women, and that probably held true for Kagome as well. She was, despite her age and her close relationship with youkai, very human. He did so hate interacting with any more than one human woman at a time. They were like clucking hens…

 _I'll talk to them. We should definitely introduce ourselves. But not because I think Kagome puts much stock into what her girl friends think._

Ignoring the fact that Kurama had picked up on thoughts he hadn't even shared with him, and the fact that he could already sense what the other was thinking as well, he prompted him for clarification. Sometimes, just sometimes, he decided to cater to his counterpart's human hangups. Things like denying one's own nature to preserve some backwards sense of privacy. _'What do you mean?'_

 _If you want Kagome to start seeing us as a boyfriend, or a_ partner, _or whatever you want to call it, then we need to start doing things a boyfriend would do. We need to make a good impression on her friends,_ Kurama explained

The question of how to approach the strangers was taken out of their hands, however, when one of them finally noticed him standing a few meters behind them. The girl on the end with the pixie cut happened to spot him as she stretched her back and she immediately shook the shoulder of the girl next to her, Eri, to get her attention. He overheard her ask excitedly, "Is that him? That's gotta be him!" Eri turned around, made eye contact, and squeaked.

"Shuichi-kun!" she said in surprise.

Rolling with the turn of events, he closed the distance between them. "Good morning, Eri-san. It's a pleasure to see you again."

By now the other two had noticed him as well and were examining the newcomer. The man looked him up and down, looked to Kagome, and then back at him. He glared. Oh, so there was something there after all…

 _'Told you,'_ Youko said smugly.

 _You'd have been jealous of him either way._

The fox snorted, as though insulted by the accusation that he could be jealous of the human male. _'Not jealous; territorial. Protective of what is_ mine _.'_

 _Kagome's not really our's-_

 _'She is, she just doesn't know it yet,'_ Youko assured him.

Although he hated to be interrupted, Kurama silently agreed.

"Oh!" Eri seemed flustered as though she'd been caught talking about him as he walked up. Maybe that wasn't too far from the truth, considering the way the little group was eyeballing him. "I um- I didn't expect to see you here. Are you taking one of Kagome's courses?" she asked.

"No, I'm actually here to pick her up for a date," he answered, knowing even as he said it that it's not what Kagome would have wanted him to say. He wanted to make a good impression on them, but he didn't necessarily want to take the decision of when to reveal their relationship to her friends out of Kagome's hands. But Youko was in his ear about asserting his position and making it clear to this other male that Kagome was not available. And secretly, though he was what Youko referred to as "painfully human" about suppressing his more primal emotions like jealousy and possessiveness, he wanted to go grab Kagome and bend her over his arm and make it clear to everyone here who she belonged to.

The man looked dismayed, and the three young women had varying expressions of surprise. The male lightly tapped Eri's arm. Perhaps misinterpreting the gesture, she hurried to introduce them. "Forgive me, I forgot to introduce you! This is Tanaka Yuka, Akitoki Hojo, and Saito Ayumi," she turned to the others. "Everyone, this is Minamino Shuichi. I met him one evening when I ran into Kagome in town," she explained.

"Well, duh-" Yuka started, but Eri pinched her arm discreetly.

 _'So they have been talking about me!'_ Youko delighted.

 _Us._

Ignoring him, Youko continued, _'But they seemed surprised when we said we were here for a date. I want to know what Kagome has told them.'_

"Nice to meet you," Yuka and Ayumi said. Hojo might have mumbled it under his breath.

"Likewise," Kurama said, setting down the backpack he'd packed their lunch and water in and taking a seat in the grass next to Yuka. "I didn't realize Kagome still had a class going on."

"Oh, actually the self-defense class just ended. Kagome's just helping her cousin with a play he's writing, and we're all just catching our breath," Eri explained. "Kagome's class really kicked our butts." While she spoke, Eri had crawled around behind them to sit on his other side, leaving only Yuka between himself and the man called Hojo, who was still alternating between longing looks at the dance-fighting Kagome and glaring silently at Kurama. Ayumi sat quietly on the other side of him, observing.

Before Kurama could respond to that, Yuka chirped from his other side, "So, Kagome said you were just friends, but you're taking her on a date? What's up with that?"

"Yuka-chan!" Eri gasped.

Hojo leaned forward to get a better look at Kurama.

Ayumi seemed only mildly interested in the conversation.

"What?" Yuka asked. "I wanna know."

 _'I like this little human woman. We didn't even have to lead her into it. But I definitely don't like that Kagome called us a_ friend. _'_

 _We expected as much, you know._

 _'Obviously. I still don't like it.'_

Kurama searched for a way to explain the discrepancy to her friends without making his relationship with the miko look weak. "Kagome is a private person. Perhaps she wanted more time to cultivate our _relationship_ before she spoke openly about it. In that case, I will owe her an apology."

 _'That's good. I'm impressed, Red. I'm finally rubbing off on you.'_

 _I'm going to take that as a compliment, only because I think you meant it as one._

"Hm…" Yuka appeared to be considering that. "How long have you been dating?"

"Three months," he answered easily. Three months, but only seven glorious weekends together.

"How come we never see you around?" she asked, bold-faced.

"Yuka-chan, really!" Eri admonished again, though she did look interested in the line of questioning.

"This is the only way we'll ever get any answers. You know how tight-lipped Kagome is," Yuka explained herself, looking not at all apologetic about her forwardness.

 _'Nevermind, I don't like her. She's too nosy, and she's got no finesse about it.'_

"I live and work out of town" Kurama explained. "I can only visit on weekends."

"M-hm… and you've been going out all this time and Kagome hasn't told her _best friends_ anything about you?" Yuka countered.

 _'I_ really _don't like her.'_

 _Hush, Youko, you just don't like that she's getting information out of us._

"You said yourself she is tight-lipped," Kurama answered the young woman.

Yuka and Eri shared a knowing look. "She's got you on the back burner too, huh?" Yuka said with some measure of pity.

Youko was spitting mad. _'Back burner!'_ he sputtered.

Then Eri chimed in, "She's had poor Hojo-kun here in waiting for like seven years." The girls gave the suddenly flushed young man pitying looks.

"That's not true! Things between us have just always been… complicated," Hojo spoke up for the first time, chagrin finding his voice.

 _'She compared us to that_ boy _?!'_

Kurama opened his mouth to respond to the insulting "back burner" remark, but-

"Kagome is a kind person, she just doesn't know how to break someone's heart."

Four heads turned to the young woman with curly hair and a quiet demeanor on the end. Yuka and Eri flushed deeply. "Of course, Ayumi-chan! We didn't mean to suggest she was being intentionally cruel," Eri explained and Yuka echoed the sentiment.

"That's not even what's going on at all!" Hojo denied.

All three of the girls gave him a pitying look and Kurama relaxed, somewhat satisfied that the heat of the conversation seemed to have been tempered by the cool-headed Ayumi, and the confirmation that the boy was definitely deluded in his position with Kagome. He decided he liked Ayumi. The avatar cleared his throat, bringing the attention back to him. "I'm not comfortable discussing mine and Kagome's relationship any further without her," he said.

Yuka and Ayumi looked sheepish, and sat back on their heels, giving him a little space. "Of course," Yuka mumbled, although she looked as though she were still trying to work out how to question him further on the subject.

An uncomfortable silence settled over the group as they watched the dancers/combatants in the courtyard.

Shippo had put on music at some point, some upbeat pop number Kurama vaguely remembered hearing on the radio, and he would pause it intermittently to show Kagome the next set of steps in the dance, modifying things as they went. Kagome was a quick learner, and although she insisted she was naturally very clumsy, centuries of martial arts practice and a rough lifestyle had honed her body's coordination and muscle dexterity. She was in her athletic wear, which he'd seen her in only once before when she'd been running and which he'd been eagerly looking forward to seeing her in again since. They had even speculated that when they hiked she might wear the form-fitting black spandex capri pants and the loose, cut-off sweatshirt that would be so easy for him to slide his hand up under when he backed her into a tree.

 _Look at her legs in that spandex,_ Kurama mused, remembering the feel of those long, toned legs wrapped around him.

 _'You're looking at her legs?'_ Youko countered. He was more focused on her rear and the delectable little dimples on either side of the base of her spine that peaked out from under her cut-off shirt.

 _Hm… I wish the kit and these humans would leave, though._

 _'I wish she were naked.'_

 _That, too… But definitely with Shippo gone._

 _'Eh, whatever; as long as he doesn't interrupt us.'_

Kurama answered the fox spirit only with a sound of disgust. He decided to try to change the subject. _I wouldn't have figured her for a dancer, but she can really move. Why haven't we asked her to dance before?_

 _'She has excellent rhythm and muscle control; of course she's a good dancer. And I don't really care for dancing particularly, but maybe we could just ask her to dance_ for _us…'_ Youko was already enjoying the images that line of thought conjured. _'But you're right. This_ would _be much more enjoyable if these humans, the smelly male especially, would leave.'_

 _Smelly?_ Kurama couldn't help but ask.

 _'You can't smell that? Of course you can, you just don't know what it is,'_ Youko admonished in that way he did when he felt Kurama ought to know something and it was ridiculous that he didn't. _'Take a deep breath,'_ the ancient fox instructed. Discreetly, Kurama obliged. ' _Can you identify something… musky?'_

Foremost, he identified the scent of hydrangeas and sun-warmed leaves and damp tree bark. That was Kagome, of course. He caught the smell of her kit, something like summer clover and tart apples, and the underlying scent of his mother which was always somewhat mixed with his purely by close physical association. Those smells were very familiar to him, so although he didn't have the natural knack for scent analysis his fox counterpart did, he could easily pick those out. They were, in fact, much easier to isolate than the others he was perceiving.

The "loudest" was the artificial scent of peaches. It was a perfume, obviously, from which of the girls on his sides he couldn't be sure. Maybe both. The rest of the scents, layer upon layer, were totally unidentifiable to him. The humans around him smelled like regular old humans, ones who were accustomed to interacting only with other humans with the same dulled sense of smell that they had. Kagome, unusual among them, never wore perfume and used unscented soap. He probably had her close association with canid youkai to thank for that habit.

But maybe there was something… kind of like rotting mushrooms? Why hadn't he noticed that awful odor before? All he'd been able to smell was Kagome since he'd entered the courtyard. That smell… It was strongest to his left. The wind was on his left cheek. It _was_ the male, sitting on the other side of Yuka and watching Kagome with a dreamy look.

 _'See? That's why I tell you to pay attention to your nose.'_

 _Don't talk to me like a child, Youko. I'm human. I don't perceive the world through my nose like you do,_ Kurama reminded him, irritated more than usual for some reason by the old fox's condescension.

 _'You could learn to use the nose I gave you, if you'd try a little harder.'_ Before Kurama could respond to that, Youko continued, _'To begin with, you need to hone in to and identify all of the smells in your range, not just the ones that are familiar and pleasant. I realize that your humanness is a limitation in that area, but just pay closer attention. That musky smell is important.'_

 _Why is it important? Isn't that just his natural scent?_

 _'Sort of, but there's an edge to it. Without having smelled him in an unexcited state for comparison, it's difficult to pick out, but it's pheromones. He's looking at what is ours and he is becoming aroused; do you see why this is pertinent information-?'_

Kurama didn't like that. He didn't like that at all. This man would never know the pleasures he knew with Kagome, so there was no reason for him to be even entertaining such fantasies. The avatar was silent for a long moment. _He needs to leave._

 _'Now we're on the same page.'_

"So, how do you all know Kagome? I assume you all attended high school together?" he asked in an effort both to alleviate the somewhat charged atmosphere and get back to their current goal, which was to assert their position to this boy, Kagome's friends (and perhaps by association Kagome herself) as the miko's _only_ suitor. And, if he had to escort that man off Kagame's property and _warn_ him against coming back, well then he would.

Beside him, Eri perked up at the change in topic. "We were all in middle school together. Kagome and I didn't get into the same high school as them, though," she explained, somewhat sheepishly. "It was my mathematics score that failed me," she said, by way of explanation.

"Ah. Math was never my strength, either," he said. "I was always much better with language."

"Right?" the young woman said with a smile, her embarrassment fading. "Kagome said it was the math that she failed, too!"

"I think Kagome failed the science portion, too, though," Yuka inserted. "I feel kind of responsible for it, anyway, since I was the one tutoring her in biology."

From the end, Ayumi spoke, "Kagome is very intelligent. She always had higher marks than us before, well- you know."

And, quite to Kurama's shock, all three of the girls looked slyly to him, seemingly awaiting a response, some kind of confirmation that he did know what she was referring to. Hojo looked as though he had just realized what the girl's had done, and looked at first pitying then very interested in his response. And suddenly, Kurama realized that Ayumi was not the completely objective voice of reason he'd thought she was up until this point.

 _'Son of a bitch. She's in with them, too!'_ Youko interjected, examining the quiet young woman at the end of the line in a new light. _'I was prepared for hens, but not a pack of wolves!'_ The fox let out one delighted bark of laughter.

 _Youko! What do I say? If we don't know what she's referring to, what event that apparently caused her grades to suffer, then it's going to look like we don't know much about Kagome!_

 _'Yes, I see the dilemma. Calm down… We've discussed this before. We know that Kagome fell through the well when she was fifteen. When we met Eri we realized that she must have returned to Ningenkai sooner than we thought, soon enough after her fall out of the modern era to pick up her studies and attend high school. A three hundred+ year break in one's studies would certainly affect one's grades. However, we also know she has educated Shippo, enough that she feels confident he could test into a good high school and get a diploma. We have a lot of pieces that don't quite fit together.'_

 _Yes, and none of this information helps us since what we need to know is whatever "human" explanation she came up with for her sudden change in academics to tell her school friends so that we don't look clueless about her life!_

 _'Well, that is something we don't know. She might have disappeared for a bit, if she wasn't one hundred percent certain of the date that she had fallen through the well and perhaps delayed her return to Ningenkai to be safe. Or if she wanted to use a period of disappearance for her cover-up story. But if we guess that and we're wrong it will look worse on us. But it doesn't matter. If we can keep them talking about Kagome's childhood in Ningenkai, they're bound to reveal things to us that Kagome wouldn't have chosen to herself. If the cost is looking a little foolish temporarily, well then so be it. We're going to have to take one step back, perhaps, but we'll take a few steps forward,'_ the old fox explained patiently.

 _And you're not at all worried about the boy thinking he has any room to slither in between us and Kagome?_ Kurama asked in disbelief.

 _'Hm? Oh, no. When Kagome comes back over here, I will leave no doubt in anyone's mind what our_ position _with her is,'_ Youko assured him confidently.

 _Youko, you know Kagome doesn't like PDA._

 _'Just hush and answer the girl so they'll get back to spilling information at us.'_

"I'm not sure what you're referring to, Ayumi- _chan."_ Maybe he hadn't been able to keep the little bit of resentment out of his tone, but what the hell. He didn't like being backed into a corner. Even with Youko in his ear telling him it would work out to their advantage.

The girls shared a look again that stuck like a splinter under Kurama's skin. He normally was very cool-headed, but he was becoming increasingly irritated by these friends of Kagome's. Eri picked up the verbal ball. "Didn't Kagome tell you? She was terribly ill for years when we were teenagers. She had to stay home a lot, but she kept up her studies as best she could, with as sick as she was."

 _'Ah, there it is. An ongoing illness that could explain long periods of absence at school. She must have been passing back and forth between Ningenkai and Makai then, to finish her studies. Something required her attention back in Makai. Perhaps she didn't want to bring Shippo into Ningenkai with her yet. If she had always planned to return to Ningenkai with Shippo to live with her family and to put him through high school, then it would make sense to leave Shippo in Makai so that he could appear as her "cousin" here at the shrine as a teenager ready to start high school after she was finished with her studies. But she graduated high school a few years ago. I wonder why she waited to come back?'_

"She is so vibrant, it's difficult to imagine her anything less than the picture of good health," Kurama responded to the revelation, neither confirming nor denying that she'd not told him about that part of her childhood. He cared less and less for these friends. For all they knew, Kagome hadn't revealed that to him because she was embarrassed by it. They didn't seem to have much respect for their friend's privacy.

"She made kind of a miraculous recovery, actually, when her Grandpa sent her to live with an old Ainu medicine man martial arts master on Hokkaido right after we graduated high school," Eri explained further. "That's where she met her cousin Shippo. He was studying under the Sensei, too, and they became very close friends. When Kagome's mom got married, Shippo came back to Tokyo with Kagome to get a new start."

"A new start?"

Yuka cut in excitedly. "Oh! Last year was a really rough year for Shippo." Eri looked a little disappointed that the chance to tell the story had been stolen from her, but let the other girl continue. Yuka, squirming with dramatic excitement, jumped right into the story. "So, a little background information: Shippo is Kagome's dad's second cousin's step-son. His parents were killed by bears when he was just a kid-"

"Bears?" Kurama couldn't help but interject.

"Yes, two bears. It's Hokkaido," Yuka said by way of explanation. Shrugging, she continued, "When the bears attacked, Shippo's dad was able to kill one of them with a knife and wounded the other one, but in the end both of his parents died… He didn't have any relatives to take him in so an old hermit sensei in his village took him in and raised him and taught him martial arts and stuff. So then, he fell in love with a girl he met in town named Harue. They were only fifteen, but they promised one another that they would get married when she graduated high school." Here, she paused and both she and Eri sighed dreamily. "One afternoon last summer when he was walking her home from school through the forest, a bear emerged from the trees!-"

Eri gasped, although she hadn't heard the story a half dozen times at least. Yuka continued, steadily rising on her knees as the tension built. "The bear had a big scar over his right eye, and couldn't see out of it. Shippo recognized it as one of the bears who had killed his parents, the one that had gotten away! It started charging at them and Shippo pulled out his dad's knife that he'd kept all those years and drove it into the bear's chest just as it reached them! It was a fatal blow!… but, the bear's momentum carried its carcass past Shippo and pinned Harue under it, crushing her…"

Yuka had tears gathering in her eyes. Eri was weeping openly. Even Ayumi and Hojo looked somewhat affected. "Harue died there while he laid beside her and promised her he would love her until the day he died." Yuka finally dissolved into tears. "I'm sorry," she hiccuped, "It's just so beautiful and sad."

 _'BA-HAHAHA!'_ Youko laughed raucously.

 _I can't believe he'd make up such a ridiculous story! And I can't believe they bought it!_

 _'Haha! I'd loved to have seen Kagome's face when he started spinning that story and she just had to go along with it!'_

 _I'd like to have seen her rain hellfire down on him afterward. Little shit._ But Kurama couldn't help but laugh a little himself.

Ayumi spoke up again from the end. "Last week when I walked my little sister home from school I saw Shippo flirting with one of her classmates," she inserted dryly.

Eri was quick to defend him. "He has to move on with his life! He can't waste his youth!"

"It's what Harue would have wanted!" Yuka interjected.

"She would have wanted him making out with high school girls behind the tennis courts?" Ayumi asked.

"He flirts with Kagome, too," Hojo grumbled, casting a resentful look at the auburn-haired youth who currently stood close behind Kagome with his hands on her hips as they practiced a move in the dance where he flipped her backwards over his arm to land on her feet.

 _That's just gross,_ Kurama scoffed.

Youko was losing his composure.

"Oh, come _off_ it, Hojo! They're cousins!" Yuka unknowingly echoed Kurama's disgust.

"Only by marriage," Hojo maintained.

"He's sixteen years old!" Eri said in disbelief.

"He doesn't _act_ like he's sixteen. And I know what I see," Hojo stubbornly held his ground.

"He's just very mature because he's been through so much in his short life!" Eri rose to the young man's defense again. By now she had leaned forward to look around Kurama and Yuka to Hojo on the other side. Being in between the two of them was beginning to make Kurama uncomfortable.

"Why are you so defensive about him? Do you have a crush on him or something?" Hojo asked, becoming riled up himself now in response to Eri's ire.

Kurama was just glad the smell of spoiled mushrooms was becoming a little less pungent now that the young man's attention had been pulled away from the Kagome. Youko was still laughing hysterically at the absurdity of Shippo having the hots for his own mother.

A deep blush had begun to creep up Eri's neck to her cheeks. "Don't be absurd! He hasn't even graduated high school yet!" she insisted, becoming flustered when Yuka and Ayumi slid twin looks of disbelief at her. Eri's face said "traitors!" But then she squeaked and shushed the others, nodding her head towards the courtyard discretely.

At that moment, everyone realized that Shippo's rhythmic counting had stopped and mother and son (or part-time shrine maiden and cousin?) were walking back toward the seated group. The pair of them in their athletic wear would have turned heads on the street. Already exceptionally beautiful "human" specimens, they were both in immaculate physical condition and shared striking blue eyes, although his were a deep sky blue while hers were a paler, churning sea gray. Shippo had her laughing at something, but when Kagome's gaze landed on Kurama sitting there between a guilty-eyed Eri and an impish Yuka, she visibly faltered. Politely pretending not to have noticed, Kurama smiled and waved at her. The look on her face confirmed what Youko had concluded on his own in the beginning. She had completely forgotten their date.

 _I can't even be mad at her, she looks so good in those pants._

Youko shared that sentiment. But he was thinking about something else. ' _I want to make sure this doesn't happen again. We won't persuade her to let us help her in any way, but if we made it seem like it was for our own convenience, I'd bet she'd let us give her a cell phone to use. She needs one. She's impossible to get a hold of because she's never home.'_

Kurama considered that. _I think that could work, actually. But more than that, I think we need to work on getting her to see us as an exclusive partner, if not a boyfriend._

 _'I've been saying that for weeks now, Red. Where have you been?'_ The silver fox asked in mild irritation.

 _I've had reservations! We really don't know anything about her history, and if Reikai is after her, it can't be anything good. We have no idea what kind of trouble we could be getting into by allying ourselves with her, let alone considering a serious, long-term relationship. But…_

 _'Yes?'_ Youko prodded, though he already knew.

 _But I can't pretend I don't miss her when we have to go back home. You do, too. I know you do. We think about her all the time. And not just about her body, or having sex with her, although yeah that too, obviously… I think about her smile, and the way she grins when she's teasing us about something. How her eyes look so much bluer when her temper flares… And I hate waking up without her next to me. I hate thinking of anyone else touching her or even looking at her the way we do…_

 _'Hojo,'_ Youko growled.

 _Exactly… We have her physically, Youko, but we don't have her heart. And she's not going to give it to us easily. She guards herself so closely, like we do…_

Youko, feeling touchy, moved closer to Kurama and wrapped his soul protectively around his counterpart's. _'She's old. We know she's lived a rough life. She's done what she's had to do to survive, and to raise a son. But those are the things we admire about her. She is a prize that will be well worth the chase, my brother.'_

And Kurama suddenly realized how serious Youko was about this woman. Because Youko only ever called him brother when they were facing something life-changing, like when he had formally announced his presence to Kurama when he was just a small boy. Youko was thinking about a future with Kagome. Was he? He knew he wanted more time with her. He knew he wanted to learn about her, to know her desires and her fears. He wanted to sleep next to her, to hold her, to comfort her and kiss her. But did he want _all_ of her? Did he want the shrine? The crotchety, dependent grandfather? The unknown possibly criminal history with Reikai? The overbearing inu taiyoukai? The _son_?

They observed the object of their dilemma join the group. Her friends wasted no time drilling her about him and their date. Between Yuka and Eri, Kagome looked increasingly uncomfortable. She stuttered. He'd never seen her this anxious. He'd seen her throw Hiei into a wall and come out swinging, but he'd never seen her like this. He didn't like this at all.

 _'I don't like this,'_ Youko growled, echoing his sentiment.

 _Why is she putting up with this? And what kind of "friends" are these?_

 _'Get up. We're putting a stop to this.'_

—

Kagome was happy. It was her day off.

She didn't have to serve at the cafe today. She didn't have to give any blessings or tours to shrine patrons. She didn't have to instruct any archery classes. She didn't even need to stay with Jii-chan today because he was staying the week with Mama and her new husband's family. The only thing she really had to do was give her four friends a self defense lesson and she'd already done that. Afterward, Shippo had asked her to help him work out some of the moves in a dance play he was writing. She really didn't mind. They hardly ever got to spend any one-on-one time together anymore and she dearly missed the days when it was just her and her son in their quiet jungle home.

Like everything he did, the dance was complex and artful, and it really put her muscles to work. She was silently thankful for the workout. Without daily hunting, foraging, and sparring she was afraid she was starting to get a bit of a tummy. She could at least pick up the sparring again. Shippo was probably feeling even more restless than her being cooped up here in the city without any outlet for his wild energy. Maybe today would be a good day to hunt… Something niggled at the back of her mind. What was it?

"Hey! You still in there?" a voice pulled her out of her thoughts. Her eyes followed the hand waving in her face up the arm to focus on her son's face. She tried not to notice his rounded ears. They were all wrong. She just couldn't get used to them. But there was the ever-present grin tugging at the corner of his lips. That was right at least.

"Oh! Sorry, Shippo-chan. Where were we?" Kagome apologized, taking up the last position they had been practicing.

"Thanks, that's all I needed you to help me with right now," the kitsune told her, standing back now that he'd gotten her attention. His grin turned roguish. "You've been distracted all morning. Thinking about that avatar again?"

Kagome knew her face betrayed her even as she denied it. "No! I'm not thinking about him every time I'm distracted, you know."

"There was that one time-" he started.

The miko was quick to cut him off, "What you _think_ was going on there was _not_ going on there, you little degenerate. And have you heard of boundaries? Privacy? Discretion? Any of the above?"

Typically, he shrugged. "You know it's different for youkai, Mother. You've been living amongst us for, like, half a millennia now."

"And _you've_ been living with _me_ all that time, too. And you know I'm not going to talk about that with you. So-" here, Kagome switched gears, clapping her hands in excitement and bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement. "I was thinking! Since I don't have anything to do for the rest of the day, we should take an excursion into Makai to blow off some steam. I know you're itching to run-"

Shippo, whose eyes had just landed on Kurama sitting at the edge of the courtyard, opened his mouth to protest, but then something occurred to him. He was here for that date she'd mentioned two weeks ago! He'd forgotten about it until now, and it looked like his mother had as well. Oh… Oh, this could be interesting. But should he warn her?… Maybe, but… Shippo had never been able to resist stirring up a little mischief. He always had the defense that he had forgotten, too… "Ah, c'mon, you'll have to summon Sesshoumaru-sama and he's gonna want to take us up to that kami-forsaken mountain and do the whole meditation thing before he'll let us hunt, and he's constantly critiquing me." The young fox made a face.

Kagome was going to fight him on that, but then it occurred to her that Sesshoumaru would definitely grill her for information about her new "relationship" with Kurama, and she was just not prepared to have that conversation. "Well, ok, but you should really start meditating with me again in the mornings. I know you don't _need_ it like I do, but it's still good for you. But- I do wanna get outside today anyway. We could go hunt on Kimi-sama's property! I'm sure she won't mind, especially if you call and ask."

"Why do I have to call?" he whined. He really didn't care to call, but he liked to be contrary anyway. Sometimes she would bribe him with something if he acted like he really didn't want to do something.

"Because Kimi-sama adores you, and she won't be able to say no," Kagome assured him.

"Worried she's still mad about Jii-chan sticking ofuda all over her favorite dragon skull?" Shippo couldn't help but grin at the memory. The old man claimed the skull was cursed. To be fair, he did genuinely believe he was helping his hostess. The young kitsune rather liked his Jii-chan. He was never a dull companion!

The miko looked abashed. "A little," she confessed.

"Alright," Shippo shrugged, taking his mother's arm and turning her around to walk with him back to the waiting group on the sidelines. "I'll go in the house and call while you get rid of Mushroom Man and the Gossip Gang."

Kagome swatted his arm but couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up out of her. "That's terrible, Shippo-chan! I don't know how you come up with this stuff!"

Shippo opened his mouth to say something, but what came out instead was "uh-oh" when his eyes landed on Kurama for the "first" time. Oh, he was good.

Kagome followed his gaze and found the reason for that muttered "uh-oh." Oh, no. Oh, no no no no.

There he was. Being charming and gorgeous and sweet kami, was he wearing a tank? His shoulders looked absolutely lickable. Oh, shit, no, this was bad. How long had he been sitting there? How much information had her friends grilled out of him and vice-versa? He was waving.

Faltering, Kagome hesitantly returned the wave, her eyes darting from him to her friends and to the kitsune in disguise beside her, who had a suddenly innocently benign expression she recognized from a certain deceased monk. He'd known all along! Kami above, if she could go back and throttle Miroku one last time for corrupting Shippo… It comforted her somewhat to think that Sango was probably still throttling him on a regular basis somewhere in the afterlife.

But that was a late-night reminisce for another time. Right now, she had to deal with the giant mud pit that she had just fallen into: the fact that she had forgotten entirely, until her eyes landed on Kurama sitting with her high school friends, that she was supposed to go hiking with him today. And that she had let two worlds that she had successfully balanced for several months now collide because two weeks ago when Kurama had made this date with her, she'd forgotten to write it down on her calendar when she got home and it hadn't crossed her mind since.

And, not to mention that she felt lower than dirt for forgetting this date. Kurama had been very happy when she'd agreed to let him take her hiking. She'd mostly given in to help appease her own guilt, if she was being honest with herself. He hadn't outright said anything that should lead her to believe that he wanted something more serious, but he'd also been becoming possessive lately. And there was that night at the hotel bar a few weeks ago that she still couldn't get out of her mind when it was late and the house was quiet and she was alone with her thoughts… So, she'd been hesitant, but then his eyes had gone honey gold and he'd described to her in generous detail what he wanted to do to her against every good tree they came across. Her knees almost buckled. She hadn't even asked him what a "good" tree was. She'd find out.

But she forgot. Kami, she forgot. And now he was sitting between Eri and Yuka, and her social life, as it were, was about to get way messier than she ever wanted it to be.

This was the day her high school friends, one of which she was pretty sure was still in love with her, and all of which had been hounding her for months about who she was seeing on the weekends, would meet her "slam piece," as her younger brother put it. Because of course, he had seen Kurama leaving the shrine one night when he was home visiting from college and he and Shippo talked. So her brother already knew. And that was embarrassing enough. But now her friends just had more fuel for the fire, and she'd never convince them now that she didn't have a secret boyfriend.

And Kurama was most definitely not her boyfriend. He was… well, a sort of friend with benefits. A friend whom she knew little to nothing about outside of a darkened hotel mattress. So, not exactly even a friend.

By the time she and Shippo reached the group of waiting _friends_ at the edge of the courtyard, Kagome had time to process and resign herself to the situation. Ok. So Kurama was meeting some of her high school peers, who didn't actually know anything about her _real_ history and so couldn't really let anything important slip in front of him. And it wasn't like he was meeting her mother or something. This was ok. This was going to be ok. She'd get rid of Yuka, Eri, Ayumi, and Hojo with minimal contact with Kurama, get Shippo to go to Kimi-sama's without her to hunt and mostly to keep him out of trouble while she was away, and not let Kurama know that she had forgotten about their big sex-romp-in-the-woods date. No big deal.

"Kagome-chan!" Yuka grinned, jumping up to grab the miko's arm, perhaps to prevent her from just outright running away from the conversation by the look of veiled panic on the miko's unusually flushed face. "Eri was just introducing us to your _friend._ "

Kagome's eyes met Kurama's. It might have been the sunlight, but she swore there was an impish gold tint to the cool forest green. What had he told them? "Um- that's great. Great. Um- I mean it's just so great that all of my- _friends!-_ are finally meeting each other." Kagome coughed, hoping to cover the extreme awkwardness of whatever had just spilled its way out of her mouth. Everyone was staring at her. She felt like her mouth was suddenly full of cotton. Her palms were sweating. On her right, Yuka, as always unable to disguise her mischief, was grinning like the cat that ate the canary. On her left, her son had a look of practiced serenity.

"Shuichi-kun, we've been trying to get Kagome-chan to tell us where she's been going on the weekends for _months!_ " Yuka gushed to him, still grasping Kagome's forearm affectionately.

Kagome's face reddened even more. Why couldn't she just have remembered to write down this date? "It's not like that, Yuka-chan, honestly," she protested weakly. "I just-" something about the look that passed briefly over Kurama's attractive features, the slight downturn at the corner of his thin, masculine lips and the minuscule wrinkle that formed between his eye brows, made her cut her sentence short.

Eri, apparently deciding to abandon caution and follow Yuka's bullheaded lead, hopped up from her seated position in her excitement. "Shuichi-kun has been a real gentleman, Kagome-chan. He's definitely not one to _kiss and tell._ He won't even tell us where he's taking you for your _date._ "

And Kagome knew, she just _knew_ the special emphasis Eri had put on those words were meant to let her know that she had never been fooled by the explanation of "he's just a friend from out of town that I met for drinks once" that Kagome had tried to feed them after Eri had run into them that one night in town months ago. The miko took a deep breath and tried to calm her anxiety. Kami, her life had been so much simpler in Makai. How was she going to navigate out of this mess without stepping on Kurama's ego? Or giving her friends any more to talk about than they already did? Or-

"Date?" Shippo spoke up from beside her, his startling jade eyes round and innocently inquiring. "Kagome-chan, why didn't you tell me you were dating? You know I wouldn't have told Jii-chan."

Kagome glared at her son while he kept his flawless, benign expression. "I'm not- I mean-" Stuttering, she looked from the carefully blank expression on Kurama's face and the varying degrees of intense interest on the faces of her friends and suddenly realized she had backed herself into a corner here. If she insisted they were _not_ dating, then her friends would assume that the relationship wasn't serious and that she was just having a casual fling with Kurama (Shuichi! She had to remember to call him Shuichi in front of her friends.) And although that was technically true, Kagome would prefer it not be known that she was meeting up with a guy four? six? times a month just to have mind altering sex in his hotel room. But if she "admitted" (and she mentally put that word in quotation marks because there was definitely not any sort of relationship between her and Kura- Shuichi beyond the absolute best sex she'd ever had in her long life, she hated to say it) to her friends that she had lied and that she did have a boyfriend and _here he is! all gorgeous and interesting and way out of my league and sure, of course you can grill him about our personal history together, why not? what are a few invasions of privacy between friends?-_

Ok, she was getting way off track here. And starting to spiral again.

And then something marvelous happened. Something truly unexpected. Having been quietly observing until now, Kurama stood gracefully, as he did all things, and stepped towards her. He looked Yuka and Eri in the eye, briefly but deliberately, before turning his eyes to hers. His voice was low but firm and his words washed over her like a warm wave. "Kagome, if you don't feel comfortable defining us right now, then you don't have to."

Just those words, that little assurance from him… Well, she felt in control again. She wasn't under any obligation to tell her friends about them, even if they ambushed her. Especially since they ambushed her, now that she'd gotten over her anxiety enough to see the situation clearly. Her shoulders relaxed and she managed a smile. And his forest green eyes _were_ tinted gold around the edges, she could see it now that he was standing so close. He returned her small smile and she was sure it lit up his eyes. For a nanosecond she forgot where she was and found herself unconsciously stepping out of Yuka's grasp and towards him. She felt like- she didn't know. Like she just wanted to kiss him for no reason.

She recovered smoothly (she hoped) grabbing Shippo's arm beside her and pulling him along with her. "Guys, I'm sorry, but I do really have to get ready to leave. It was a great class, and I'll see you next week!" she grinned, ignoring the twin looks of disbelief on Yuka's and Eri's faces as she touched Kurama's arm just so lightly as she passed him and told him, "Give me five minutes and I'll be right back out and we can leave."

The smile he gave her made Kagome feel a little giddy, and at first she almost didn't recognize it for what it was. Was it possible to be so old that you forget a feeling? She tamped it down and decided not to ponder on it too much while she dragged Shippo by the arm toward the house. When they were far enough away that she was sure they wouldn't be overheard, she stopped and faced the kitsune in disguise, crossing her arms and giving him a disapproving stare.

The young man fidgeted under his mother's ire. "C'mon, Mother, it was just a joke," he finally whined, hunching his shoulders and making his eyes big and pleading.

"That look hasn't worked on me since you only had two tales, you brat," she told him firmly. But her stance did soften a little. "You knew I had this date today and you let me make a fool of myself!"

Shippo put up his palms in a way that was very reminiscent of Inuyasha when he was about to have to defend himself against her ire. "Honest, Mama, I _did_ forget about it until I saw Kurama there! Giving you a 30 second warning wouldn't have done any good. The damage was already done."

 _Oh._ Kagome let her arms drop to her sides, anger deflated. "I guess not," she admitted. "Well, anyway, I'm sorry I can't go hunting with you today, but you should have Kimi-sama send a car for you anyway. I'm sure you could round up some friends on the compound who will want to go with you."

The fox dropped his gaze and made his face look a little forlorn. "Yea, I guess," he said, shrugging.

The miko stepped forward and put her hands on his forearms. There was a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "I know you're not as torn up about it as you're putting on, but I really am sorry we won't get to spend the day together."

Shippo's eyes met hers and a grin broke through his facade. "It would have been nice. But I'll learn to trust again some day."

Kagome rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile. "Oh, hush. I bet you've been thinking about meeting up with that little neko girl again since you realized you'd be on your own today," she teased him.

Her son rolled his eyes. "I have not… She's probably not even still staying at the compound."

Kagome shrugged. "She's Seiza-sama's granddaughter, isn't she? He usually stays through the summer. You never know, she could still be there," she said in a sing-song voice.

Shippo laughed. "You convinced me, already, jeez. I'll go to the compound and I'll stay out of trouble while you're away."

Just then, her group of friends passed them, Hojo bringing up the rear, clearly eyeing with disapproval their closeness. Kagome and Shippo waved them goodbye as they left with promises to meet up again next week for another lesson and a reminder to practice at home until then. Kurama passed and told her he'd meet her at the bottom of the staircase, and then mother and son made their way quickly into the house, one to make a phone call and the other to change clothes and mentally prepare herself for whatever possibly kinky, definitely mind-blowing, flora-fueled sex frenzy her not-boyfriend had planned for the day.

—

Several moments later, at the bottom of the staircase, Hojo waved goodbye to Yuka, Ayumi, and Eri as they began their walk home. He lived in the opposite direction, but rather than turn to leave, he lingered under the torii that marked the entrance to the Higurashi shrine. He gazed up at the red arch and wondered what had happened to the girl he'd kissed seven years ago right here under the torii after he'd walked her home on their first (and only) date. That was when she'd been on the rocks with that flamboyant gangster Inuyasha, before she'd gone away to Hokkaido to cure her chronic fish odor syndrome and came back with that irritating cousin Shippo, who was clearly in love with her, he didn't care what the girls said. And now this Shuichi guy? What kind of guy walked around with hair like that? And those had to be contact lenses, right? What was Kagome thinking, hanging around with these weirdos?

"Did you forget something, Hojo?"

A voice like cool honey spoke directly behind him, startling the young man. Hojo turned to find Shuichi standing behind him. His backpack hung on one shoulder and his hands were tucked into the pockets of his cargo shorts. Hojo tried not to let his nerves show. Where the hell had he come from? He'd had his eyes on the staircase the whole time… "I was just admiring the view."

"The view of the steps?" Shuichi asked.

"The torii. I've always felt a special connection with them," he confessed. Good. He was doing good. He wasn't nervous at all. This was just a normal guy… a normal guy with color-changing eyes and a slightly scary vibe.

Shuichi looked up to the torii as though examining one for the first time. "Shrines, torii… We destroy trees to erect sacred monuments, but the trees and the land were here before us and will be here after us. They are the timeless gods these temples stand for."

And what the hell was that supposed to mean? Did Kagome have to listen to this nonsense all day? "Uh, sure. Yea. The trees are great, too."

Shuichi regarded the young man silently for a long moment, then a smile spread across his lips. Hojo didn't find it at all pleasant. In fact, it was a little creepy. "You have known Kagome a long time."

Hojo wasn't sure if that was meant to be a question, but he answered anyway. "Yea, we've been friends since middle school. And we dated." He tucked his hands into his pockets to keep them from fidgeting. Shuichi's eyes narrowed just slightly, but Hojo felt as though the other man could see his dishonesty. They _had_ dated! Once…

"Ah yes, the middle school date. Holding hands awkwardly while you wait in line to buy tickets at the theater and then kissing her like you'd practiced on your mirror." Shuichi's manner had changed. His voice was cold and even. His irises looked lighter somehow in the sunlight, giving his eyes a vaguely inhuman expression.

A chill ran up Hojo's spine, tempering the flare of anger that condescending statement had caused. He'd known Shuichi wasn't the nice, sensitive guy he was leading Kagome to believe! It was a facade! "You don't know what you're talking about," Hojo managed, his voice not coming out as strong as he'd wanted.

On the street, a black car pulled off and parked on the curb, idling. Shuichi signaled to the car that he'd be just a moment, then turned his attention back to the conversation. "I'm telling you this because Kagome is too kind-hearted to. She isn't interested in you romantically and won't ever be… You miss opportunities when you continue to put your faith into a lost cause." And his eyes had become a little less intense now, his voice a little less hard.

What was this guy's deal? "Kagome is not a lost cause," he denied, some of his fire returning. He had to warn Kagome somehow about this guy. There was something just not right about him. And he wasn't just speaking out of jealousy!

"She is to you, Hojo. Move on, my friend."

Hojo glared, unwilling to believe he had no chance with the woman he'd been in love with since he'd first even noticed girls. "You are not my friend. And you're not Kagome's either. You're just like that Inuyasha guy she was in love with in high school, and he hurt her, too. I won't let another weirdo with wild hair break her heart." He'd been steadily gaining confidence throughout his speech. And he'd apparently managed to throw Shuichi off, because he had a look on his face like he'd just found out the Emperor was the Prime Ministers evil twin brother.

Just then, they heard Kagome coming down the steps and Hojo, panicking from the all the confrontational adrenaline running through him, darted behind the bushy hedges that lined the sidewalk just in time to avoid being seen by the approaching miko. He watched as Shuichi adjusted, deciding to ignore him and turning to receive Kagome with a smile.

"Sorry it took me a moment, Kurama, I had to take care of some things," she said, jumping over the last two steps to land on the pavement excitedly. Kurama? Was that his street name or something?

"No worries, darling. All ready?" Shuichi asked, putting a hand to her back and ushering her toward the waiting car.

"Yep! I've got my camel pack and my hiking shoes!" she beamed, practically bouncing on her toes. That should be him wandering around in a muggy, bug-infested forest with her (but seriously, who took a girl hiking for a date?).

"A camel pack? Fancy."

"Easier than lugging around a backpack of bottled water," she teased.

"Keep talking and I won't share any of the desserts I brought for lunch," Shuichi warned, smacking her lightly across the bum. Hojo couldn't believe the disrespect he was seeing! And she just laughed! Like it was nothing!

"Mo, that's cruel, even for a fox!" What? Fox? Was that the name of his gang? The foxes?

"Well, then you'll have to behave. Now tell me about this play Shippo is writing," Shuichi said as he helped her into the back of the car and followed her in.

Hojo heard Kagome's voice from inside the car one last time before the door shut him out of the conversation. "He calls it a 'modern day fairy tale dance fighting pop opera-'"

And then the car drove away, leaving Hojo crouched in a bush alone, considering how he was going to convince Kagome that this guy was bad news.


	9. When you come to the fork in the road

AN: Finally managed to crank something creative out... The first half of this chapter is a lemon, which is posted on my account on AO3 (Kuroyuri_chan) if you would like to read the full, sordid details. As for this chapter... I swear I'm going somewhere with this. Don't kill me! As always, I adore my readers and your feedback. Please let me know what you think!

 **Said the Joker to the Thief**

 **When you come to the fork in the road...**

 _*LEMON OMITTED*_

They stayed like that, clutched together on the floor of the shallow grotto, for some time.

Kurama became aware of a tickling sensation in the back of his mind that he recognized as Youko wanting to tell him something. It was the equivalent of a child standing close and staring at you, waiting to be acknowledged. _I concede, you were right. That was a good idea._

The fox was less enthusiastic than Kurama would have expected him to be when he answered, _'I knew you would enjoy it…'_ Then he seemed to drift off into a thoughtful silence. Still, Kurama got the feeling there was something his counterpart wanted to tell him.

 _She must have enjoyed it, too. You said it only works if both partners enjoy it,_ Kurama said, trying to get at what the kitsune was thinking about so intently.

 _'So you_ were _listening when I explained this to you the first time,'_ was the fox's only response.

Giving up on getting Youko to talk, Kurama returned his focus outward to the woman still in his arms. He suddenly became aware that every muscle in her body was tense. Her arms were still looped over his neck and her forehead rested on his shoulder in a casual gesture. But her body was taut like the strings of a shamisen. Had she been tense like this the entire time? His ability to focus on his surroundings was severely impacted at the moment. He made a conscious effort to clear his mind and fully come down from the high that made him feel like he was floating somewhere above the trees outside. If there was one thing Youko had drilled into his head since he was a child it was _always be aware of your surroundings._

Concerned, Kurama brought the hand that had been on the rocky wall to lay on her left side under her ribs. Her skin had cooled now, but when he laid his hand over the strange-feeling scar on her side it was still red-hot there and to his shock, she flinched at the touch. What the hell-? "Kagome?" he asked, uncertainty clear in his voice. "Are you ok? Did I hurt you?" he asked.

His voice seemed to bring her back to herself. Her body relaxed and she turned her face away from him, lowering her arms to slide her hands down over his shoulders to rest on his biceps. "No, no you didn't hurt me." she assured him. Her voice sounded somewhat strained, but he couldn't see her face. "I'm sorry, I just- That was intense," she laughed, but it sounded a little forced. She went quiet again and he wished he could see her face.

 _'She's lying somehow,'_ Youko said thoughtfully.

 _You said this wouldn't hurt her._ Kurama couldn't keep the accusatory tone out of his voice.

Youko, tired of the insinuations that he would allow any harm to come to her, rushed to defend himself. _'It_ did not _hurt her! That's the whole point of it! Each partner feels what the other feels, echoed and amplified back and forth to one another. If she were in pain,_ we _would have been in pain.'_

Kurama knew that. He did. But there was no denying that Kagome was distinctly uncomfortable. He felt her draw a breath to say something, but she changed her mind and remained silent for another long minute. At least her body wasn't tense anymore. The scar under his hand wasn't hot anymore, either. That had been really strange. Whatever had happened to make her uncomfortable had to have something to do with that scar. She'd flinched when he touched it. She'd never flinched at his touch as long as they'd been seeing each other.

 _'There was something different…'_ Youko admitted after a long silence. It seemed he had finally decided how to say what he'd wanted to say earlier.

 _You mean it was different from other times you'd done it?_ Kurama asked, looking for clarification.

 _'Yes, something felt different… I passed her our ki and I felt the echoes of her climax as one usually would, but I felt something else, too. It was… a surge of ki. Of our own youki! It felt like being lifted off my toes for moment, but then… It was like I gave her a drop and she handed us back a lake... That can't be right. There's no way that could happen. How could a miko produce youki? Our own youki? And now it's gone… I can't account for it. What I gave her was just enough youki to bloom a flower, nothing more…'_ He trailed off there, unable to explain it any further.

"Kurama?"

Kagome's voice drew their attention back to the outside world. They listened intently as she finally turned her face to them. She leaned back in the circle of his arms, still straddling his lap. The air was cool on his stomach. Her stormy grey irises were clear and visible again around the pupils. The color had faded from her cheeks. She looked… guarded. Not stone-faced, but… just guarded. Like the easy smile she gave him wasn't so easy. "What in the world was that kitsune gift you gave me?" she asked, her expression purely curious.

He should have been happy that she seemed to be back to normal, but he wasn't entirely convinced. Youko wasn't either. But he would play along for now. He pushed his way to the forefront. "Did you enjoy it, my little lover?" he asked her, receiving a bashful smile and an averted gaze for an answer. "That is one of the reasons kitsune are known to be such fantastic lovers. There is no word for it in human language. It is… a sharing of one's life force with your lover. When you time it just right, you get the feedback loop we felt." As he explained, he laid back onto the stone floor of the cave, coaxing her to lie on top of him. Humans tired much more quickly from vigorous love-making. He would let her rest for a few minutes before they climbed back up to the trail.

Kagome laid down on top of him, her chest pressed to his and their legs tangled together. She felt pebbles digging into her knee. "Aren't you uncomfortable?" she asked him, trying to lift some of her weight off his chest. Her expression still didn't look quite right to him.

He pulled her gently back down. "Not at all. Now rest for a few minutes. We still have to get to the top of the mountain and have our late lunch," he instructed her.

She laid down on top of him and he put one hand gently over her arm while the other stroked her back. The sound of the wind and the birds in the tree tops outside the cave mouth settled over them in their silence. Gradually, he felt her relax. She was acting so strange. And he hated that guarded expression she suddenly had. She was hiding something, obviously. Something out of the norm had happened when he gave her his youki, something that should not have happened, even with an unprecedented partner like a miko. _Especially_ with a miko. And she knew what it was. She was trying to appear normal, but she was waiting to see if he'd realized something had happened. His best bet right now was to appear as though he didn't. In truth, if he had not exchanged ki with someone in that way before, he would not have been able to distinguish between the feeling of an enormous amount of his own youki being channeled through his body and the orgasmic feedback loop. It was very disorienting and left one vulnerable for a few moments.

The peace of the cave was suddenly broken by the sound of a rumbling stomach. Kurama lifted his head to see Kagome's face turning red and he couldn't help but laugh. Her face darkened, both in hue and expression. She lifted herself up on her palms and he was treated to a lovely view of a blush that spread over her neck and breasts and a thundering scowl. Then her stomach rumbled again and he dissolved once more into laughter.

"Don't laugh! I haven't eaten today!" she told him, climbing off of him and sitting back on her knees, laying her hands over her stomach in embarrassment.

Kurama pushed himself up onto his elbows. "Well, why didn't you have breakfast?" he asked, letting his eyes wander freely over her body as she stood and stepped back from him.

"I don't know. I guess I forgot. I was excited to have a day off," she shrugged, distracted as she dusted the dirt and pebbles off her knees and shins, then tried to flake away the dried cum on her stomach. She seemed dissatisfied with the job, but moved on to shaking out her braid which had become quite disheveled and quickly re-braiding it with expert fingers. When she caught him staring unabashedly and doing nothing to ready himself for the climb back up to the trail, she told him, "Why don't you just take a picture, you pervert."

"I would never," he said, grinning and joining her on his feet. "It could be found by someone, and I couldn't bare the thought of another's eyes upon your beautiful body. I'd have to kill them," he said simply.

Kagome flushed deeply and rolled her eyes, unable to keep the slight smile from her face as she found her clothes and stepped back into them. "Do kitsune have a school or something they go to to learn all this ridiculous flattery?"

He shrugged in return, dusting himself off and gathering his clothing. "No. It comes naturally."

The miko laughed a true laugh and things began to feel a little more like they were sliding back into normalcy. "I believe it. Oh! Kurama, your back! It's covered in rocks!" she said, beginning to gently sweep away the offending little stones from his broad, muscled back. "Is it painful? There are some big ones," she fussed. "You shouldn't have let me lie on you."

"Kagome, honey, I am a youkai of more than a thousand years and a few pebbles will not hurt me," he assured her, enjoying the attention nonetheless.

"Whatever you say, Mr. Invincible," she replied flippantly, tapping some of the scars on his arms. She had finished dusting him off and had moved to pull on her socks and hiking shoes.

 _'I love it when she gets cheeky!'_ Youko laughed.

"That rumbling belly has put a mouth on you today, hasn't it!" he teased, pulling on his clothes. "We'd better get back up to our pack before you start a fight."

Kagome gave him a sidelong glance, her cheeks flushed in remembered embarrassment. "Well, I think you remember what happened the last time you got in a fight with me," she huffed as she stepped past him and ducked under the hanging vegetation that obscured the mouth of the shallow cave.

For a moment he didn't know what she was referring to. Then he remembered how they'd met. It had been less than a year ago, but the incident on the roof of that Tokyo nightclub seemed worlds behind them. He grinned and finished pulling on his shoes so he could join her on the flat stone overhang. The tops of trees thirty meters tall stood directly before them. It had been cool in the grotto, but it was pleasantly warm in the sun. "As I recall, you were forced to throw yourself off a roof to get away from me," Kurama said smugly.

Kagome turned to him and poked a finger into his chest. "As _I_ recall, I kicked your ass in the office, lost you on the stairs, and then purified the hell out of one of your sneaky flowers. And if you hadn't been wearing one of those Reikai vests I could have purified _you,_ too," she retorted smartly.

"I think without your son there to give you an escape route you would have a problem on your hands, _miko-sama,_ " said the avatar, giving her a grin that was all fox.

"Why don't you shut your mouth and sit down so I can braid your hair," Kagome said, motioning for him to turn around for her.

Kurama looked as though he had forgotten he'd told her she would have to braid it again for him. "Don't worry about it," he said. "I don't know where I threw that hair tie."

Kagome looked over his disheveled hair, sticking up in odd places and still dusty and smiled. "Just sit down. I've got an extra," she told him.

 _'Let her do this. I think she feels… threatened for some reason. We need to show her our back.'_ Youko said.

Sometimes Youko said something so kitsune that they were both a little shocked that Kurama understood his meaning. But he did. They needed to show her that they were not a threat to her. With that in mind, Kurama turned his back and walked to the edge of the flat stone that hung thirty meters over the forest below and sat down on the ledge, his feet dangling.

He felt Kagome hesitate and looked back over his shoulder. "Are you going to braid my hair or not?" he asked her. After a moment more of hesitation, she stepped up behind him and began combing through the long bordeaux-colored hair with her fingers.

 _Her hands are shaking…_ Kurama remarked.

 _'I noticed, too… She's still acting a little off,'_ Youko said, trying to keep the uncertainty out of his voice. He knew he hadn't hurt her. It was just impossible. He would have felt it, too. So why did she seem like he had hurt her, somehow?

"There, all done," he heard Kagome's voice from behind him. She had finished braiding his hair quickly and then backed away.

"Thank you," he said as he stood and they moved towards the narrow ledge they had used to climb down to the grotto. "You first, dear," he said, putting his hand to her back and guiding her to the stone wall. For the first time he noticed that her long black hair had been knotted at the end like a rope. He grabbed the end of his own braid and felt an elastic band there. "Did you give me your hair tie?" he asked her in confusion.

"M-hm," she nodded, climbing up onto the ledge and holding on with her chest pressed flush against the warm stone. They would have to side step across this cliff face for several dozen meters. Lucky she'd lost her fear of heights at 15.

Kurama followed her. "But you said you had an extra," he accused.

Kagome shrugged and looked back at him. "I lied," she said simply, winking at him and continuing to side step along the ledge, slowing as she came to a part that was only wide enough for her toes.

Kurama was watching his companion's movements carefully, knowing she was fully capable of a climb like this and had probably traversed far more dangerous ground in her long life, but still a little nervous for her safety anyway. They were pretty far up, and she still seemed on edge. Worst case scenario he could send some of the vines that grew down the side of the rock face to catch her in a pinch. "You didn't need to do that," he told her after they had passed the narrowest part.

"My hair is rougher than yours; it stays knotted like that better than yours would have," she explained. At this point they could see the overlook they had climbed down from just a couple of meters above them. Kagome began finding hand holds and pulling herself up. Kurama stayed beneath her until she reached the top, ready to help her if she slipped, then followed her up. Back on the overlook there was a bench to rest, but the two of them stood looking out over the valley below for a few moments.

—

"Well, that was fun," Kagome said simply, giving him a small smile and then turning to follow the stone paved path back to the public trail. "Now I'm really ready for lunch."

Kurama joined her, teasing, "Now I know how to motivate you if we're ever in a hurry."

"Huh?" Kagome said, giving him a confused look.

"I just have to offer you some food, right? You skip a single meal and you'll follow your rumbling belly to the ends of earth," he laughed.

Kagome's cheeks reddened. "You just wait. Next time you're hungry I'll string you along all over a mountain with broken promises of food and sweets."

He rubbed his chin, pretending to consider it seriously. "No, you'd have to promise me something better. You're the only one desperate enough to go through all that for some dessert cakes."

"Oh, I suppose you'd only go to those lengths if you thought you'd _get some_ out of, right?" Kagome asked, giving him a sidelong glance that told him what she thought of this.

"Darling, I'd go to those lengths for just a kiss from your sweet lips," he said, punctuating the statement with a peck on said lips.

Kagome rolled her eyes at the shameless flattery. So far, she thought she was doing a pretty damn good job of keeping it together and appearing normal on the outside. On the inside, however…

 _'Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod! How am I going to pull this off? This is hopeless! I'm the worst liar in the world! Everyone knows I can't lie; why did I ever think I could continue to see him and keep this thing inside me a secret?! I've put my whole family in danger just so I can have my cake and eat it, too. Oh, you are so stupid, Kagome! Selfish and stupid!'_ the miko silently berated herself as she walked beside Kurama, careful to keep her pleasant, relaxed mask in place as her thoughts continued to spiral.

"There it is," the avatar said, pointing to a tree up ahead that she recognized. It was the magnolia tree they'd tucked the backpack into before they descended the path to the overlook. "That's strange," Kurama said as they approached the tree. "It's bloomed."

And Kagome saw it, too. It had bloomed. It was covered in large, fragrant flowers. "It's beautiful," she remarked simply.

"When we left it only had three opened buds," the avatar said thoughtfully as he imbued the tree with just a little of his youki and coaxed the limb which held his bag within reach.

"I think I remember that, too," Kagome said. She didn't actually remember exactly how many flowers had been there, but there had been only a handful certainly.

Kurama circled the tree once, examining it, and then stood back to look at it thoughtfully. Kagome stood beside him, looking at the tree as well, wondering what he was looking for. It was a little strange that it had bloomed in the hour that their little detour had taken them, she supposed. After a few moments of this Kagome nudged him with her elbow. "I was promised lunch?" she asked, eyeing the bag slung over his shoulder. She was eager to get some distance between them and the incident in the grotto.

 _'And oh! Are we going to have a talk about protection spells when I get home! Kimi told me no one would be able to get past that spell unless I loved them. She didn't tell me it couldn't tell the difference between love and sex!'_ Some feeling she didn't want to identify made her throat tight and the back of her eyes sting. She ignored it and clung to her sense of normalcy. '… _Maybe it wasn't made to last this long. I'll have her refresh the spell or something. Coats get holes, right? Maybe it just needs to be patched up…'_

Kurama laughed and put his arm around her shoulders, walking them away from the tree and toward the public path once again. "I promise when we get back on the trail it's only another ten minutes to the top of the mountain. Do you think you'll last that long, or should we stop now and eat?" he asked her teasingly, giving her stomach a pat.

The miko swatted his hand away and shrugged out from under his arm to walk beside him. "I think I'll make it, you jerk," she said, although there was a smile touching her lips.

"You don't really mean that, Kagome," he said, his voice suddenly low and at her ear. "I'm a generous person. Don't you remember what I shared with you in the grotto?"

She hadn't felt him move so close to her. She nearly jumped, but suppressed the instinct. She had to act like everything was normal, when in reality she was trying to figure out if this fox had given her his ki in an honest desire to share an extremely pleasurable experience with her or if he'd done it to test out whatever information he had somehow been able to uncover about the cursed jewel she hosted. It was ok. She was ok. This is what Kimi and Sesshoumaru had trained her for so many years when she had been living at the palace. These were just skills she had to tap back into.

Kagome pitched her voice a little lower, her cheeks feeling quite hot as she retorted, "You can give me multiple orgasms and still be a grade A jerk, Kurama." And she left a slightly stunned kitsune avatar behind her as she stepped ahead.

After a moment of stunned silence, Kurama chuckled and caught up to her in a few strides of his much longer legs. "I think I can live with that," he responded, grinning. They had finally reached the public footpath that would lead them to the top of the mountain. The last ten minutes was quite steep and difficult even with the carved stone steps. This was the most difficult trail in the park. Kurama took the lead again and their conversation paused as they concentrated on the narrow, uneven staircase that zigzagged up through the canopy of the forest.

The climb gave Kagome a few minutes to continue to consider what had happened in the grotto. She still didn't know where the enormous amount of ki had gone when she had panicked and basically threw it back at him like a hot coal. She'd been more than a little distracted at the moment. _'And good kami, I can't ever do that with him again. It was too good. Scary good. I can't afford to let myself be that vulnerable again! I can't believe I let my guard down around him so much. Living in Ningenkai is making me weak…'_

Her eyes were focused on the steep path under her feet. The backs of Kurama's calves were in her field of vision. _'…I can't see him anymore at all, can I? I… I have to end this. This has been too dangerous from the start. I've fooled myself into believing I could keep doing this and I just can't, can I? I have an obligation to my family. I can't put them in danger like this anymore…'_ But the thought of not seeing him again… it made her throat tight. He had become such a welcome diversion from the mundaneness of work and bills and taking care of Grandpa. He had been something just for her.

"Almost there," the object of her current dilemma spoke from ahead of her on the trail. He crested the last few steep steps and then turned to take her hand and pull her up with him.

Kagome's breath caught as she stepped up into a panoramic view of the Japanese countryside. "Oh!" was all she could say, her eyes wide to take in every green detail. They were so high up and the sky so clear that they could see Mt. Fuji to the west and the entire sprawling city of Tokyo to the east. "Kurama, this is… this is beautiful." She smiled, and maybe there was a touch of sadness in it.

Her hand was still in Kurama's. He pulled her a little closer and leaned in to press their arms together. "I knew you would enjoy this, too, little lover."

Kagome felt tears prick the back of her eyes. She stepped forward a few steps to look out over the sprawling city. She heard Kurama setting out their lunch behind her on the grass and had to stay turned away for a few moments to get herself under control. She had to make it through the day. It couldn't look like she was running away from him because of what had happened in the cave.

…She really didn't have any proof that he even _knew_ something had happened, right? He didn't act as though he had noticed anything abnormal. But he was a pretty well-known thief and deceiver… She was trying to rationalize keeping him again. She had to stop that.

"I thought you were hungry?" Kurama teased and Kagome gathered up her feelings and tucked them back behind her mask before she turned around to join him. He had spread out a blanket on the ground and brought bento boxes for them to share. The miko smiled when she noticed one box had strawberries. They were her favorite.

"Itadakimasu!" they said before beginning their meal.

Kurama laughed as Kagome's chopsticks immediately found the artfully sliced strawberry flowers. She gave him a sidelong look, chopsticks on her pursed lips and her cheeks full of strawberries. "You always eat the sweets first," he explained.

Kagome swallowed and shrugged. "You never know what will happen from one moment to the next. So I eat my sweets first."

"So you have dessert first in case you're attacked half-way through the meal?" Kurama asked incredulously.

"You've never been attacked while you were trying to eat?" she asked, her own tone incredulous now.

He made a show of thinking over the question. "You know what, I have, and I always regretted not getting my cake," he said.

"See? There's some valuable life advice for you, free of charge: Always. Have. Dessert. First." She punctuated the sentence by popping another strawberry into her mouth.

"I'm sure Shippo loved having you as a parent at meal-times," Kurama mused, going for the tamagoyaki. He had never been one for sweets.

"We've always had fun together," Kagome answered, and as it always did, talking about her son set her more at ease. Her smile was warm and genuine as she recalled, "He has a sweet tooth, too. When we first settled in Makai, the first thing he did was plant his orchard. It took years to grow, but now we make peach candies all summer!" she grinned.

"I had never seen peaches in Makai until I saw your orchard," he answered. He'd told her this the first time he'd seen them. Shippo didn't have his talent for horticulture, certainly, but it had taken great skill to coax those peaches into growing in the demon world's strange soil.

"Mm… he brought the seeds with us when we left Ningenkai. Neither of us had ever been to Makai. It was a totally alien world to us…" Kagome said, her eyes going a little distant as she remembered that rough transition.

They sat in companionable silence for some time, each eating and thinking. Kagome tried not to think about her screw-up in the cave and only found herself thinking instead about the unpleasant task ahead of her of correcting the past three months of mistakes and somehow convincing Kurama that she didn't want to see him anymore and that it had nothing to do with the weird kitsune energy thing they had done earlier.

She was brought out of her spiraling thoughts by the fox's voice. "Why did you leave Ningenkai? Was it only the agreement with Reikai?" he asked.

Kagome swallowed the bite of pickled cucumber she'd been chewing and turned her eyes to him. His own eyes were focused on the cityscape below them, but she could see gold and green both. They were very rarely one or the other; almost always a mixture of the two. She had often wondered how he managed to blend his two souls together so seamlessly, but it was rude to ask. She considered his question for a moment. This was something it wouldn't hurt to tell him.

"No, the agreement with Reikai came after we left… At the time, Reikai agents had been crawling all over Ningenkai for decades expelling youkai willingly or not to Makai. They had made several attempts to _persuade_ us to go, too, even though I was human and rightfully belonged in the human world," she explained. She couldn't keep the bitterness out of her tone. But it wasn't for being exiled from her home, it was… rather the acceptance that she truly didn't belong there anymore. The miko cleared her voice and continued, "We found refuge with Kimi-sama for a while, but- well, I finally decided it was what was best for Shippo-chan… Things changed. We couldn't live as we had in Ningenkai anymore."

"Mm… I was born in Makai. It was home to me. But I liked to venture into Ningenkai often, until the barrier went up," he said, setting down his chopsticks and leaning back on his elbows and turning his face up to the sky. A quietness settled between them again. Their bodies were satisfied and their bellies full. The wind swayed the trees over their heads and birds chirped and fluttered through the branches. Bits of conversation came to them on the breeze from the trails below them. The voices seemed excited.

The miko, finished with her meal as well, drew her knees up to her chin and laid her head there, her eyes finding nothing particular on the Tokyo skyline below. This place was so peaceful. She couldn't even hear the cars from up here. If she looked up at the sky, framed by swaying treetops, she could almost feel like she was back in the Ningenkai of four hundred years ago. That time and place was lifetimes behind her. She sometimes wondered if she would run out of space for memories some day. Many of her memories that had been clear at one point had become muddied over time.

She turned her face to observe Kurama's in profile. His eyes were closed and there was a serene look on his features that she had never really seen there. Loose, crimson strands of hair hung over his forehead and brushed his sharp cheekbones. His brow was smooth and his thin, masculine lips were turned up just so slightly that she wouldn't have noticed if she weren't so familiar with his expressions. Kagome wondered, not for the first time, what was going through his mind. Was he thinking of what happened in the grotto? Was he plotting? Or was he as innocent in that respect as he appeared?

And there was a terrible dread creeping up over her heart, even as she sat next to him. She didn't want to look it in the face, but in the back of her mind she recognized it for what it was. She was suddenly feeling talkative. "You are content here, aren't you, Kurama?"

Her voice was low, but it reached his ears easily in the small space between them. He slit one eye open to observe her questioning expression. "You are, too. You are more like a youkai than you think, Kagome. You are at home among the trees and the ferns, like us…"

"Hm," she hummed. It was true. The concrete and the buildings made her feel on edge like they hadn't before, when she was young and knew nothing else. "Makes me wonder if I'm doing the right thing, keeping Shippo-chan here with me while I take care of Grandpa. I need his help, but… it's not fair to him," she admitted quietly, unable to look at him any more and turning her eyes once more to the city.

Her companion was quiet for a few long moments and she wondered if he would answer at all. She didn't know why she was talking like this. Finally, he lifted his head and leaned up out of his reclined position so he could see her face. "I don't think it's something you should worry about," he told her. "Kitsune are instinctually family-oriented. There is nowhere a kit would rather be than with his family," he said.

And that made her think, too. He had told her that he worked for Reikai to be allowed to stay in Ningenkai, but… why did he _want_ to stay here? Was it a familial bond? Could he really feel such loyalty for a family who actually knew nothing about who and what he truly was? She knew she had no right to ask, no right to know anything so personal about the man she had determined she would have to cut ties with, but… "Is that why you stay in Ningenkai?" she asked before she could stop herself.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see that his expression was somewhat surprised at her question. She shouldn't have asked. It was none of her business. But he answered, his voice low now too, as though they might be overheard. "In a manner of speaking, perhaps… my mother- my human mother, she has always been somewhat frail… I confess I feel indebted to her, despite her ignorance of my trespass. It is the least I can do to provide her protection and security, to be a true son to her."

Kagome felt something tighten in her heart. She didn't believe he had given her his ki in the cave for any reason other than to share a pleasurable experience. She knew he had been a thief, possibly still was, and that deception was second nature to kitsune, but… Sesshoumaru would say she was foolish. Kurama worked for Reikai. She had no reason to trust him not to hurt her, but… Her intuition about people had never been wrong before. Her closest companions had all been fiercely, intimidatingly aggressive towards her in the beginning. But she had seen goodness in them nonetheless, and her trust had not been misplaced…

But how had they been rewarded for this? Kimi, Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, Kouga… they had all pledged their lives to her as though they were family. She had dragged them into _her_ fight, and they put their very souls on the line for her. That was the real reason she had to let Kurama go, wasn't it? Not because of the danger he might pose to her family but because of the danger he was in just being close to her. That was the main reason she had refused Kimi's match proposals for so many years was because she couldn't bare to let another person she loved step into the dangerous role of her sentry. After she lost the last pieces of Sango and Miroku… she couldn't bare that kind of pain again.

Which was another reason she had to let him go. If he was as sincere as he seemed and if she let herself become any closer to him, there would inevitably come a time when she would _have_ to come clean about the secret that had kept her alive for the last four hundred and odd years. It was for his own good, then, too. By giving him up, she was protecting her family _and_ Kurama. It didn't matter what _she_ wanted, she knew what must be done. And Kagome had never turned her back on her duty before.

The voice of the one who dominated her thoughts more than she would like to admit brought her back to the real world. "It's nearly three. Would you like to start back down, dear, now that you have satisfied your ravenous hunger?" That teasing note in his voice… she would miss that.


	10. Let's Take a Step Back, Shall We?

AN: Sorry about the formatting error. Hope this looks better! :)

 **Said the Joker to the Theif**

 **Let's Take a Step Back, Shall We?**

The pianist was very talented. He was a young man, not exceptionally handsome, but his passion could be heard in his music. Most nights there were a few single women sitting at the bar waiting for him on his breaks. From Kurama's own seat at a relatively secluded table at the edge of the pit which was framed by curved ramps and flanked by two bars, he had been listening to a group of three women gossip and chat, for lack of anything better to do, for the past half hour as he waited for Kagome in the lounge of the hotel he usually stayed at. Youko was calm this evening and hadn't been overly talkative, which was unusual considering they were meeting Kagome tonight. The group of women they were sat close enough to hear so clearly were in their late twenties and seemed to work together in an office of some sort. Not the most interesting of people, certainly, but what else did he have to do?

"Do you think Kitaura-kun noticed my dress? It's more low-cut than I'd usually wear, but…" the young woman giggled and smoothed the front of her red dress in a feigned expression of self-consciousness.

"I'm sure he did. I saw him look this way when you stood up a moment ago!" her friend assured her, smoothing her own muted green dress and pretending to take a sip of her cocktail.

"I'm sure he didn't notice any of us. He never does," said the third young woman in a pair of jeans and a sequined blouse, who was _not_ pretending when she drained her beer.

"He'll notice me tonight!" the one in red announced, sounding sure of herself. "This dress cost half my paycheck," she bragged.

"It's lovely, Mi-chan," the one in green said, giving her own dress a somewhat regretful look.

Red seemed to have noticed the look. "I look better in red, Sae-chan; we decided. That green dress suits you so much better, no?"

"Of course," her friend agreed weakly, her eyes downcast.

"He's clearly in love with someone. He never responds," Jeans chimed in again, working on her third or forth beer. "It's a waste of time to wait for him."

The one in green spoke up, "I've never seen any woman with him. Or even heard him talk about a woman."

"Exactly!" Red cried triumphantly. "A sensitive man like Kitaura-kun would speak endlessly on his love."

"Mh-hm! I'm sure of it," Green agreed. Then she let her gaze wonder longingly to the oblivious pianist as he played. Her hands smoothed over the waist of her dress unconsciously, coming to rest on her thighs.

Red noticed _that_ look, too. An expression of disgust briefly passed over her face before it disappeared under a coy mask. "Sae-chan," she said sweetly. "You have a _crush_ on Kitaura-kun, don't you?"

Green's face flushed brilliantly and her eyes found the floor again. "That would be silly, Mi-chan, you know that." Her voice was small. She had snatched her drink up again and was pretending to sip it.

Looking satisfied, Red continued, "If he's looking for a wife, he can find one better than a shopkeeper's daughter _,_ Sae-chan," she giggled, swatting the other girls arm as though it were a joke she was in on. Green cast her eyes down, giving a half-hearted, "Yea, of course."

Jeans seemed unbothered by the exchange and offered, "Maybe they are a very private couple, and maybe she's just not the type of woman who comes to bars."

Red looked flustered as though she felt that _she_ wasn't the type of woman who came to bars! …She was only at this one to see Kitaura-kun, of course. "Well, if I were his wife, I would come to hear him play every night."

"Nah, if you were his wife, you'd be working too much to come see him play. You think he could support you both on his salary as a hotel bar pianist?" Jeans said dryly.

Kurama smiled into his drink. This woman was very entertaining. Red was getting increasingly flustered. Green looked torn between comforting her and reveling in her despair.

Red looked like she didn't know what to say. Her tone was obstinate when she said, "Well, it doesn't matter, because I'm not the type of woman who marries for money! I adore Kitaura-kun for his grace and passion."

Now jeans was openly laughing at her. "That's the funniest thing you've ever said! I didn't know you had a sense of humor, Hariyama!" she laughed.

Red was fuming. Perhaps trying to remove herself from the spotlight, she changed the subject. "Even if Kitaura-kun is unavailable, there are other attractive men here. Don't you agree, Sae-chan?" she asked, giving her friend a pointed look to go along with it.

Green nodded. "Oh, yes," she agreed, her eyes scanning the room. "Oh, Mi-chan, I hadn't noticed _him_ before."

"Oh? The gorgeous one with long hair and perfectly tailored high-end business suit and no ring?" her friend replied.

 _'That took longer than I would have expected,'_ Youko said.

 _You mean longer than you would have expected,_ if _you cared to consider that sort of thing?_ Kurama asked teasingly.

 _'Of course.'_

Red insisted, "I noticed him when we came in tonight. He was staring at me when we came up to the bar."

 _'In your dreams, Mi-chan.'_ Youko curled his nose.

"You don't think he can hear us from here, do you?" Green asked, her voice lowered.

"Don't be ridiculous. No one can hear us over the music and the voices."

Jeans couldn't keep the amusement out of her voice. "Him? He wouldn't blink in your direction, Hariyama," she said.

"Excuse me?!" Red was fuming again.

"He comes in here every so often to meet some legs and never so much as glances at another female," Jeans said.

"Legs?" Red asked.

 _Legs?_ Kurama mused, hiding his smile behind a sip of wine.

 _'What the hell? Have we really become so predictable?'_ Youko no longer found Jeans amusing.

 _It is true. We have been very focused on one woman lately. It would be natural that other people would notice, too._ Kurama countered. The idea of being predictable rubbed him the wrong way as well, but…

 _'I know that. It's still irritating.'_ They agreed on that. _'…It's just… Since we've become intimate with Kagome, any other woman just seems so… charmless. Even ones that might have piqued my interest before, for the night,'_ Youko mused.

At the bar, the women were still talking. Red, perhaps fueled by frustration, had just asserted that _she_ could turn his head. And Jeans, predictably, elevated the offhand comment into a challenge. "Go ahead and try. I'll bet you our next round of drinks that he won't flick an eye if you walk right by his table."

"How am I supposed to do that? He's tucked down in the corner there away from the isle. How can I just casually walk by his table?" Red asked, flustered. Perhaps she wasn't as confident as she had seemed.

"I'll tell you what," Jeans said, picking up a cheap pair of sunglasses which she'd laid folded on the bar. "I'll give you the advantage," she said. Promptly, she dropped the sunglasses to the ground and kicked them with a booted foot across the isle, over the ledge, and down into the pit. Incredibly, the gorgeous red-haired man had not noticed the sunglasses tumble down next to his table.

Red was in shock, mouth agape. Green was trying to hide her intense interest in the situation, and failing. Jeans looked smug. Finally, Red managed to gather herself. She stood, back straight and cheeks only faintly pink, smoothing her dress over her waist. "Fine," she said, her temper overcoming her doubt. She would show Yakamura who she was dealing with. "I'll get his number. And if I don't, drinks are on me for the rest of the night." With that, she turned on her heel and started down the ramp which curved down to the ground floor, at the base of the stage. The other two women watched in anticipation.

Kurama, of course, had heard everything, and had in fact seen the sunglasses tumble over the edge of the low wall and bounce under his table.

 _'I hate to break it to Mi-chan, but passive aggressive little poodles weren't my taste even before Kagome,'_ Youko sneered, his ears pinned in distaste.

 _Hm, I'd agree with that. How do we get rid of her?_

 _'Pretend we don't notice her. Make it clear we're not interested. Don't give her any encouragement,'_ Youko instructed.

 _Got it. I won't give her an inch,_ Kurama agreed.

 _'I wouldn't give her eight,'_ Youko sniffed.

And now, here came Hariyama in her red dress. Strictly speaking, Hariyama was not an unattractive woman. She was slender and graceful, a little on the tall side. She had a very pretty face and she wore her chocolate brown hair in a smart, long bob. She carried herself like she knew she was an attractive woman, and she was the kind who had probably blossomed early and been quite popular in high school. She was a woman who was accustomed to getting what she wanted. And as she strode confidently toward Kurama's table, turning several male heads as she passed, it was clear that what she wanted at that moment was Kurama's attention. It was unfortunate for her that Kurama was not an ordinary male.

Hariyama arrived at his table. Perhaps unaccustomed to having to make her presence known, she stood somewhat awkwardly at the edge of the table while Kurama pretended not to notice her. She was standing perhaps a meter and a half before him, obstructing his view of the low stage, and there was no way he didn't see her. This wasn't off to a good start… But she thought she could hear Yakamura snickering so she pressed on, determined. "Um, excuse me," she prodded, doing her best to look cute and apologetic.

The man didn't look up from his drink when he responded with a disinterested, "Hm?"

Hariyama took a small step closer, trying to get his attention. He took his phone out from his pocket as though he'd just received a text. "Um, I'm so sorry, really, to bother you, but-" he began typing out a reply, not looking up from the screen. She was beginning to wonder if he'd actually heard her. She raised her voice a little, in case he was a little hard of hearing. "Oh, well, I seemed to have dropped my sunglasses somewhere around here, I think-" he tucked his phone back into his pocket and glanced back towards the door. What was going on. Was it the music? He couldn't hear over everyone else's voices? She really didn't think it was that loud in here. She spoke a little louder. "I mean, I think my sunglasses might be under your table-"

"You don't have to shout," he said, finally raising his eyes to meet her's.

Hariyama, momentarily embarrassed, shook it off quickly and straightened her back, subtly pushing out her chest. She looked amazing in this dress. He would notice her now. But, to her shock, he looked her up and down briefly, then looked away, taking a drink, unaffected. Becoming flustered, Hariyama leaned down over the table to catch his eyes, putting her chest directly in his line of sight. "I'm so sorry, would you mind if I just took a quick look for my sunglasses under your table?" This was the part where he, being a gentleman, would retrieve the glasses for her, their hands would touch briefly, and he'd ask if she'd like to see each other again.

But Kurama simply pushed out his chair and gestured that she could look if she wanted. Hariyama couldn't believe it. She barely managed to keep her mouth closed. But she did manage a thankful smile. She could still salvage this! First, she turned her back slightly to him and bent at the hips to look under the table, giving him a good view of what she knew to be her second best feature. She glanced back over her shoulder, fully expecting to see his eyes focused on her. But he was checking his phone again! What was with this guy?!

 _'This is becoming embarrassing. Kagome will be here soon. Mi-chan needs to go back to the bar.'_

 _What do you want me to do about it?_ Kurama asked, becoming equally irritated.

 _'Just pick up the damn glasses and give them to her. Maybe she'll take the hint.'_

It really wasn't difficult for him to push his chair out, bend at the waist, and reach the glasses under the chair next to his. Hariyama had watched him pick them up and thought for sure this was where he would hand them back to her and their hands would brush and he would ask for her number. She quickly stood and took a step closer to accept his offering with a gracious smile. Her fantasy was interrupted by the sound of plastic sliding across a wood surface. She looked down at her empty outstretched palm and then her gaze found her sunglasses lying on the table next to her. "Wha-? Oh!" she caught herself. She managed a tight smile. "Thank you so much."

He was looking away again. What was wrong with him? What did she have to do to get this guy's attention? She was going to do something she rarely ever had to do. She was going to drop a hint. "Uh, listen. I, um-" Yes! Finally! She had his attention! He had raised his eyes to her! "I just moved to this district. I don't really know how to get around yet. I've been looking for someone to show me around…" And yes, he was going to speak! This would be it!

 _Ok, I've had enough of this._

 _'We're going to have to make it plain to her we are not interested.'_

 _I know exactly what to do._

"I live in Kyoto," he replied flatly. Then, having reached the end of his patience for this one-sided interaction, Kurama continued, to Hariyama's shock, "I am meeting someone here, _obasan,_ please excuse me but I must break off this conversation."

The effect was immediate and dramatic. The young woman's face fell. This was probably the first time in her life she had been called "obasan." She was mortified. Her face was hot. She stuttered an apology and turned on her heel, practically sprinting back to the bar.

Youko was very pleased. _'Sometimes that silly human etiquette does have its uses.'_

Hariyama was being comforted by her friend while Yakamura laughed at her when Kagome finally walked through the door. The moment he caught her scent from across the room, Kurama turned to see her descending the ramp. She was wearing her cafe uniform, a neat gray skirt that hit mid-thigh on her long legs and a white collared shirt, minus her apron. She had obviously just come from work. Her ebon hair was pulled back in a ponytail, disheveled from a long day. Her posture was tired. She was stunningly beautiful.

Hariyama realized who he was looking at and when her gaze found a tired-looking waitress walking to meet him her face fell even more. The beautiful man raised his hand to get the woman's attention and she waved back to indicate she saw him. Hariyama was, by now, glaring at the woman who was clearly her inferior in looks and status and who had somehow wrangled this well-to-do bachelor into a romantic tryst. How had she done it?

To Hariyama's shock, the waitress took a sudden detour as she came to pass the bar, and at first she thought the stranger woman was approaching _her._ Did she somehow know that she had just tried to make a pass at her date? She steeled herself for the altercation. It wouldn't be the first time a jealous female had confronted her. But the woman's target was, somehow… Sae-chan?

"Oneesan, excuse me," the young woman said as she approached them, speaking to Saeko.

Saeko looked confused. "Me?" she asked meekly.

"I'm sorry, I hope I'm not being intrusive. I just saw your dress and I had to ask where you got it," Legs said, because yes, now it was clear why Yakamura had called her "legs."

Saeko looked cautiously pleased. She unconsciously touched the dress in question. " _My_ dress?"

The stranger's long hair had fallen over her shoulder. It was blue black and glossy, even as untidy as it was. She smiled and gestured to the dress. "It's beautiful! Green is my favorite color, and that's such an attractive cut. Did you buy it in town, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh! Thank you for the compliment." Saeko's eyes darted to her fuming friend beside her. "Well, actually, I bought it from the boutique down the street called Mitsu."

Legs' face lit up. "Oh, is that the one in the 9th block? On the west corner?" she asked.

Saeko nodded, leaning in towards the stranger and sharing her infectious smile. There was something magnetic about this woman. She was so lovely and warm. Her eyes were haunting. They were so unusual, Saeko was sure she'd never forget them. When the woman thanked her and left with one last parting praise of her outfit, Saeko was left feeling a little colder. Although, that could have been the glacial stare of Mi-chan beside her…

At the table, Kagome sat down across from Kurama and gave him her usual smile and greeting, apologizing for being late again.

Kurama was still processing the puzzling interaction that had just taken place. _Do you think she saw Hariyama come to our table?_ he wondered, looking to his counterpart for his input.

 _'Maybe… but if she did see and she was jealous, why did she approach the friend instead of the perpetrator?'_ Youko mused. The situation was confusing. They knew for a fact that Shippo made all of Kagome's dresses. They couldn't see her actually buying a dress like that from a shop. For one, Shippo would be displeased and probably a little hurt that she would buy a dress instead of asking him to make it. And two, she was quite frugal and wouldn't buy something so extravagant for herself. So, if she wasn't genuinely interested in the origins of the dress, then she had to have approached the group at the bar for some other reason. And the only reason they could fathom was that she had entered the room sooner than they thought, seen Hariyama return to the bar from their table, and became jealous. They had experienced female jealousy many times before. If this were the case, however, why hadn't they caught her scent sooner and why had she talked to Sae-chan rather than Hariyama?

"It's ok," he said aloud to Kagome, "I know you don't always know when you'll be able to leave the cafe. And I've been enjoying the entertainment. Don't think of it."

Kagome smiled brilliantly and leaned forward casually with elbows on the table. "You're always such a gentleman. I don't know why you put up with me," she joked.

Kurama was still trying to figure out if she'd seen Hariyama speaking to him. But she didn't seem bothered. If she was jealous, why was she acting so normal? Well, he'd be normal too, then. "Kagome, my dear, you are never less than excellent company. Beauty to look upon, _stimulating_ conversation, a delight for _all_ the senses," here, a smile quirked his lips that was somehow sincere and suggestive at the same time.

The miko across from him snorted sarcastically and rolled her eyes, good humor curving her own lips even as she pointed out smartly, "Those are only two of the senses."

"Ah, the other senses…" and the grin was all Youko, " Your _taste,_ the _smell_ of your skin, the _heat_ of your thighs, for example?… they aren't exactly proper to be talking about in a public place, now are they?" he teased.

There was only a touch of color in her cheeks when she retorted, "That's never stopped you before," recalling their first date.

Kurama shrugged. "Perhaps I just wanted to hear you finish the thought. But, as always, you leave the dirty talk to me," he lamented.

"You know what, I take it back. I don't know why _I_ put up with _you_ ," Kagome responded dryly.

He might have continued the line of conversation, but just then a hurried waiter dropped off the drink Kurama had ordered for her. Kagome thanked the young man and put her hands on the tall, colorful drink before her. "Ah! My new favorite!" she said excitedly, taking a sip of the fruity cocktail and sighing at the sugary, tangy taste. She cornered her gray eyes at him conspiratorially. "Don't tell Shippo I've been drinking these," she told him.

"Why is that?" he asked her, enjoying the look of bliss on her face as she slurped the sweet, girly drink. When they had first met, she only drank wine.

"He made these for us one night at the house and I told him they were too sweet and kind of poked fun at him for liking such a childish drink," she told him guiltily. She took another sip and closed her eyes in pleasure. "But they're so good," she admitted.

Kurama smiled at that. "I won't tell, as long as it suits me," he told her.

She blinked at him. "'As long as it suits you?'" she repeated. "What does that mean exactly?"

He took a sip of his own wine and leaned back in his chair. "Well, I won't tell for now… but who's to say an opportunity wouldn't present itself at some point which would benefit me to reveal that secret to him? I don't like to make a liar of myself," he told her earnestly. Really, he didn't need to say any of this. But both he and Youko really enjoyed teasing her.

Her face lowered into a look of consternation. "That's what _promises_ and _keeping promises_ is for," she retorted.

He shrugged. "Promises are prisons."

"Is that some kind of kitsune proverb?" she asked smartly.

"More of a children's rhyme," he said, keeping his facade nonchalant and secretly enjoying her reactions.

"I'm glad Shippo never learned that one," she replied hotly.

"A kitsune anywhere is a kitsune always," he quoted another one to her.

"Now _that_ one I've heard," she laughed, seeming to forget her ire as she sucked up her drink and began to really relax into the conversation. She always carried her tension in her shoulders, he had noticed, and they had begun to sag. He had been around her enough to read her body language as well as her voice. It was enjoyable, this sort of interaction with her. He liked that he could help her relax. And he liked the expressions she made when he teased her.

"You disagree with the first one. Have you found this one to be true?" he asked, giving her a vulpine grin. By now, Youko had intertwined their souls more closely, putting them both at the surface. This had been an awkward endeavor when he had been younger. After so many years together, though, they had perfected the complicated task of running one body with two active souls.

"Absolutely," the miko agreed.

 _I wonder if she notices Hariyama glaring at us from the bar,_ Kurama wondered.

 _'I've been wondering that, too, but she hasn't looked again in their direction. I almost wish we had Hiei here to tell us what the hell she's thinking.'_

"So, how did your big financial presentation go?" she asked conversationally.

Kurama zoned back into the conversation but her words confused him for a moment. Oh! Right! He had met with a Tokyo company's CFO this afternoon and had gained them as a client for his stepfather's company. It was a big account. He would be very pleased with his work. Well, Minamino Shuichi was the best representative the company had. He was just a little surprised to hear her ask about it.

"It went very well. We gained a very affluent client today," he answered. His day job was painfully boring. He hated talking about it.

Kagome gave him a smile. "Very nice! I knew you would win him over," she said. And she didn't follow it up with a jab about his silver tongue. She just left it at that.

Well, since they were asking about work… "How was your day?" he asked, returning the pleasantry.

"Long and exhausting," she sighed, stretching her back and shoulders to emphasize.

"Why don't you tell me about it?" he said. It wasn't really something he would usually ask a woman he was involved with. Generally, he wasn't interested in the response and he liked to keep small talk to a minimum. But, he was actually interested in how her day had gone. She looked more tired than usual, like she hadn't slept much the night before.

The miko/waitress looked embarrassed and tried to wave the question away. "Oh, you don't want to hear about that," she insisted.

But _he_ insisted. "No, really, tell me. You'll feel better if you vent."

She gave him a look that he struggled to interpret and her eyes held his for a moment as she considered whether or not to discuss the mundane details of her day with him. He really hadn't thought she would be so reluctant. Most women he'd known loved to talk at great length about themselves and their day. The moment ended and she sipped her drink before beginning, "Well, I knew it was going to be a long day when Grandpa woke me up at five this morning trying to cook breakfast and breaking basically every bowl we own. Luckily, he wasn't hurt and I got him fed and dressed for the day and the kitchen cleaned up, but by then it was already time to get up anyway, so-"

Kurama listened and responded appropriately while she told him what had led to her being extra exhausted this evening. And truthfully, he hadn't really given much thought before then as to how much exactly she did every day to care for her grandfather and Shippo, to run the shrine, and to pay the bills. She had stepped into her mother's shoes after she had gotten remarried and moved into her new husband's home with his two adolescent sons. And now, both he and Youko couldn't help but think about how remarkable it was that she was even able to make time to see him at all.

 _'Well, considering the reward…'_ Youko said.

 _You know we benefit from this arrangement just as much as she does,_ Kurama responded, a gathering feeling of- something, he didn't know what- making his tone a little snippier than he meant.

 _'I don't know, I still think she has the better end of the deal,'_ the fox couldn't help but tease.

 _Youko._ Kurama's tone was warning.

 _'Don't get snappy with me because of your misplaced human guilt,'_ and the kitsune's tone went from teasing to reproachful. _'Kagome is an adult. She can make her own decisions and if she didn't want to be here, she wouldn't be.'_

 _I'm not saying she doesn't want to be here. I just… think we underestimated the effort she puts into seeing us._

 _'We ride that stinking metal trap six hours round trip every time we come to Tokyo to see her,'_ Youko defended.

But there wasn't much Youko and Kurama could keep from each other for very long, and Kurama knew Youko was feeling the same way. The ancient fox was just deflecting. _But we're getting paid._

 _'Alright, yes, I know,'_ Youko said, his ears flattened.

"And every time I turned around I had another person trying to order the special and I would, of course, have to tell them we had run out of the special. I went up to the host station and they hadn't even bothered to take the special off the board! And Watanabe ran out without doing her dishes, again, and- Ugh!" Kagome took another long sip of her drink, emptying the glass. Kurama motioned to the bartender for another. "Ok, I'm finished venting now, I promise." And she did look a little more relaxed.

"Don't you feel better?" he asked.

She smiled. "I do, actually, thank you."

Kurama shrugged and took another sip of his wine. "Don't argue with me, darling, I know what I'm talking about."

"Oh, is that right?" she said, a smirk on her lips, her eyes turned away from him, spotting their waiter coming from the bar with her drink. "I hope you don't think that condescending youkai tone has any effect on me."

"I've had some success with it, though, in _certain_ contexts," he hinted.

And that little innuendo was enough to send the color rising in her cheeks just as the young man arrived with her drink. When he turned to walk away, Kagome quickly stopped him, making direct eye contact with Kurama as she requested, "This one and the rest of my drinks will be on my tab, thank you."

The waiter confirmed and hurried back to the bar, leaving Kagome smugly satisfied and Kurama stunned into silence.

 _'She just looked us right in the eye…'_

 _And she knows we don't like it when she pays for her drinks._

 _'She's insisted on paying for hers before, but she's never done_ that _.'_ Youko couldn't decide if he was irritated or turned on by her blatant obstinance. As usual, his libido won out. _'We need to get her back to the room now_ , _Kurama. I want to hold her down and fuck her into the mattress until she understands that she will not defy us like that and get away with it.'_

Youko pushed his way to the forefront. He wanted to put his hands on her. He wanted to put his weight on her, to have her under him, receiving him and making those beautiful noises she made for him. But he also kind of wanted to see that look in her eyes again. "My dear, has that liquor gone to your head already? Because I believe you know that _I_ pay for drinks."

Kagome smiled sweetly back at him. "And _my dear,_ I believeyou know how I feel about you always buying my drinks." And here, she grinned, confessing, "But, I also just really wanted to see that look on your face.'

"What look?" he asked, unable to resist the bait.

"You know, that look when something isn't going exactly as you think it should go. You get very offended," she teased, pale eyes flashing at him under her dark lowered brow as she sipped her fruity mixed drink.

Inwardly, they reveled in her defiance and cheeky demeanor. Outwardly, however, he leaned in and lowered his voice. "Enjoy the power now, little miko, because in short time you will be in my room and _I_ will be on top and you will love every moment of it."

The color rushed to her cheeks but she grinned and winked. "Oh, I don't doubt it. But I have to get my digs in somewhere, don't I?"

Oh, how they enjoyed this dance. And they spent the next hour or so sipping wine and enjoying their little lover's teases and witticisms. He'd never enjoyed a woman's company as much as her body before. He still wasn't sure which he enjoyed more, in this case.

Finally, they rose from the table and Kurama laid his hand on the small of her back to lead her out of the lounge and to the elevators. Again, he felt the heat of Mi-chan's stare on their retreating backs. He still couldn't figure out Kagome's motives in approaching the young woman's friend earlier in the evening. He chanced a look at his companion as they left. Her cheeks were flushed with the warmth of alcohol and good humor. Her steps were steady and sure, but he could tell from the heat coming off her and the slightly unrestrained, wide quality of her grin that she was a little tipsy. She never got drunk. She was too vigilant for that. But she was in that space where perhaps she was open to some questioning…

His curiosity won out. "Kagome?" he ventured as the elevator doors closed behind them and they were alone on the ride up to his room on the sixth floor.

"Hm?" she answered, leaning into him and sighing in a tired sort of way. Her eyes were ahead of her, absently. Her dark lashes fluttered with mild interest.

"That girl in the green dress…" he began, making sure she was following him before he continued, "Why did you approach her?"

Her pale gray eyes lifted to his, her cheek against his chest, her weight shifting to her other hip under his hand. Her brow was drawn in confusion. "What?"

But he pressed on, his curiosity needing an answer. "I thought Shippo made all your dresses," he explained. "Why did you ask that young woman about her dress?"

Realization dawned on her, but she still seemed somewhat confused by his question. "Oh! Well, I _did_ like her dress, but…" she shrugged, pulling slightly away from him unconsciously as though she were uncomfortable having to examine this small dishonesty, "I just felt like she might need a little pick-me-up, I guess. She seemed kind of sad, you know?" Her eyes held his for a moment, perhaps trying to see if he understood.

He didn't. _That doesn't make sense, does it?_

Youko wasn't sure how to answer. He sensed no deception in her, but… well, no, this explanation didn't make much sense. Why did she think that woman was sad? He'd overheard enough of their conversation to ascertain that Sae-chan seemed to be the subordinate in the relationship, and that Mi-chan was a bit of a bully. But how should Kagome know that? And why should she care about the feelings of some stranger in a bar?

"Hm," he answered noncommittally just as the door dinged and opened up onto the sixth floor. Kagome didn't seem to be much bothered with his question and happily followed him to his room at the end of the hall. But Youko and his counterpart would continue considering this conundrum for the rest of the evening before coming to the conclusion that perhaps Kagome really did just want to cheer up some stranger for some reason.


End file.
